Could statins help protect vision?

Getty/Zorica Nastasic

By Olivia Bowthorpe

People taking statins may have a lower risk of developing glaucoma and may be less likely to need more intensive treatment if they develop the condition, a large study suggests.

The study, in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, found that statin use was linked to a 15% lower risk of developing open-angle glaucoma, the most common form of glaucoma, over five years.

Among people who already had glaucoma, statin use was also linked with lower rates of treatment escalation, including needing glaucoma surgery, laser treatment and prescriptions for pressure-lowering eye drops.

The researchers analysed electronic health records from the US, with more than 210,000 statin users matched with the same number of people who did not take statins.

At five years, 2.3% of people taking statins had developed open-angle glaucoma, compared with 2.6% of those not on statins.

Statin use was also associated with a 36% lower risk of conventional glaucoma surgery, a 55% lower risk of minimally invasive glaucoma surgery and a 60% lower risk of selective laser trabeculoplasty. The risk of being prescribed pressure-lowering eye drops was 11% lower.