People who took statins had a 15 percent lower risk of developing the most common form of glaucoma.
Among people who already had glaucoma, the risk of minimally invasive eye surgery was 55 percent lower in those who took statins.
After ten years, the risk of both the disease and more intensive treatment was still lower in those who took statins.
People who take statins have a lower risk of developing glaucoma. That is the finding of a large study in the scientific journal British Journal of Ophthalmology. Among those who already have the disease, statins were linked to fewer people needing surgery or laser treatment.
Statins are drugs that lower cholesterol in the blood. They are prescribed to a very large number of people. Earlier studies have suggested that statins may also prevent or slow the death of nerve cells. How they affect glaucoma, however, has been unclear.
Glaucoma is a disease in which the optic nerve suffers permanent damage. It is one of the most common causes of blindness that cannot be reversed. The disease is treated with eye drops, pills, laser or surgery.
More than 420,000 people compared
The study was carried out by researchers at UC San Diego, the University of South Florida and the University of Southern California. They used the TriNetX database. It gathers medical records from 115 healthcare organizations and covers about 165 million people worldwide.
The researchers compared 210,701 people over the age of 40 who had taken statins with an equal number who had not. The groups were matched so that they resembled each other. Everyone had been seen by an eye doctor for a follow-up visit.
It is an observational study. It shows a link, but it cannot on its own show that the statins cause the lower risk. According to the researchers, the results add to the evidence that statins can protect nerves.
Robert Weinreb is a professor of ophthalmology at UC San Diego and directs the university's Hamilton Glaucoma Center. He is the senior author of the study. According to him, the link could matter for a very large number of people if it is confirmed in more studies.
Fifteen percent lower risk
After five years, 4,771 people in the statin group had been diagnosed with open-angle glaucoma. It is the most common form of glaucoma. That corresponds to 2.3 percent of the group. In the group without statins, the number was 5,491, or 2.6 percent.
Statin users had a 15 percent lower risk of developing the disease. After ten years, the risk was still 10 percent lower.
Fewer surgeries and laser treatments
In a second analysis, the researchers studied people who already had glaucoma. They compared 29,598 people who took statins with an equal number who did not. The researchers measured how often treatment had to be stepped up to something more intensive.
After five years, the risk of a laser treatment that lowers pressure in the eye was 60 percent lower among those who took statins. The risk of minimally invasive surgery that lowers pressure in the eye was 55 percent lower. The risk of traditional surgery was 36 percent lower. The risk of needing eye drops that lower the pressure was 11 percent lower.
The links remained after ten years. At that point, the risk of the laser treatment was 51 percent lower, the risk of minimally invasive surgery 46 percent lower and the risk of traditional surgery 32 percent lower. The risk of needing eye drops was 12 percent lower.
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