(Press-News.org) Many Americans suffer from diabetes and hypertension and, according to a study by researchers at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center, these individuals may have an increased risk of developing open-angle glaucoma (OAG).
Joshua D. Stein, M.D., M.S., a glaucoma specialist at Kellogg, led a research team that recently reviewed billing records of more than 2 million people aged 40 and older who were enrolled in a managed care network in the United States and who visited an eye care provider one or more times from 2001 to 2007. The researchers found that people with diabetes alone had a 35 percent increased risk of developing OAG and those with hypertension alone had a 17 percent increased risk. For people with both diabetes and hypertension, there was a 48 percent increased risk of developing OAG, the most common form of glaucoma in the country.
The study focused on the possible associations between various components of metabolic syndrome—a collection of conditions that includes obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol and high triglyceride levels)—that affects one fifth of the U.S. population. The Kellogg researchers also examined how each component increased or decreased the risk of glaucoma.
While the researchers found that diabetes and hypertension increased the risk of OAG, the study showed that hyperlipidemia actually reduced by 5 percent the risk for developing the disease. Further research is under way to evaluate whether it is the hyperlipidemia itself, the medications used to treat the condition, or both that reduces the risk of glaucoma. Findings from this research may eventually lead to novel treatments for glaucoma.
"Patients who have diabetes and hypertension are already known to be at elevated risk for eye conditions like diabetic retinopathy, a condition that harms the blood vessels in the retina," says Dr. Stein. "This study and others suggest that, for these patients, an increased likelihood of glaucoma is also a concern."
Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. In the United States, more than 2.2 million individuals have this disease. And, as the U.S. population ages, glaucoma diagnoses are expected to increase. Because OAG symptoms usually don't surface until the disease has progressed, understanding the risks associated with OAG—elevated intraocular pressure, positive family history of glaucoma, increased age and non-white race—will help physicians identify which patients would benefit most from screening and monitoring.
"This study reinforces the importance of regular eye examinations for patients at increased risk of glaucoma, including those with diabetes and hypertension," says Dr. Stein. "
###
The study, funded by the National Eye Institute, was published online in July in Ophthalmology.
Citation: The Relationship Between Components of Metabolic Syndrome and Open-Angle Glaucoma. Ophthalmology, 2011 July.
Other University of Michigan Authors: Paula Anne Newman-Casey, M.D., Nidhi Talwar, M.S., Bin Nan, Ph.D., David C. Musch, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Media Contact: Aimee Bergquist, 734.763.4660, aimeesb@umich.edu
Study focuses on relationship between glaucoma and diabetes, hypertension
2011-08-19
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Competitive Scrabble makes you smarter
2011-08-19
Since competitive Scrabble players are expert at studying language, University of Calgary researchers sought to determine if and how players' techniques and training changed the process of reading words.
They tested competitive Scrabble players to understand the extent to which the players relied on the meaning and physical orientation of words in order to understand them as a part of the English language system. Their study shows, for the first time, that it is possible to develop visual word recognition ability in adulthood, beyond what researchers previously thought ...
Researchers complete first major survey of amphibian fungus in Asia
2011-08-19
An international team of researchers has completed the first major survey in Asia of a deadly fungus that has wiped out more than 200 species of amphibians worldwide. The massive survey could help scientists zero in on why the fungus has been unusually devastating in many parts of the globe -- and why Asian amphibians have so far been spared the same dramatic declines.
The disease chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis or Bd, is the culprit behind amphibian extinctions in Central, South and North America, Australia and Europe. The new Asian ...
AIDS researchers isolate new potent and broadly effective antibodies against HIV
2011-08-19
NEW YORK, NY, LA JOLLA and SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA, SEATTLE, WA, August 17, 2011 — A team of researchers at and associated with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), The Scripps Research Institute, the biotechnology company Theraclone Sciences and Monogram Biosciences Inc., a LabCorp company, report in the current issue of Nature the isolation of 17 novel antibodies capable of neutralizing a broad spectrum of variants of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
The new antibodies, large protein molecules that bind to pathogens and flag them for destruction, were ...
Researchers push to import top anti-bullying program to US schools
2011-08-19
LAWRENCE, Kan. — An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Kansas plan to bring a highly successful anti-bullying effort, the KiVa program, to American schools. Starting as early as the 2012-13 school year, a pilot program could kick off in selected classrooms in Lawrence, Kan. If shown to be successful there, soon afterward the model could expand nationally.
KiVa, implemented in Finland in 2007, has impressed researchers with its proven reduction in bullying incidents. According to one recent study, KiVa "halved the risk of bullying others and of ...
Want to improve employee engagement? Make it part of the performance management process
2011-08-19
TORONTO, ON – The performance management process should evaluate and focus on employee engagement in addition to job performance, according to a paper published from the University of Toronto and University of Guelph. Engagement involves high levels of identification with one's work in terms of attention, absorption and feeling integrated in the performance of one's tasks and roles.
The paper's authors – Professor Alan Saks from the University of Toronto and Professor Jamie Gruman of the University of Guelph – contend performance management should involve an evaluation ...
Study shows suburban schools have worked to 'hoard' advantages
2011-08-19
LAWRENCE, Kan. — As suburban school districts have gained advantages over their urban counterparts, they have tenaciously clung to them, often at the expense of urban districts, a new study by University of Kansas researchers shows.
While urban schools' not keeping pace with suburban schools is an acknowledged problem, few have studied the causes of the discrepancies. John Rury and Argun Saatcioglu, professor and assistant professor of educational leadership and policy studies, recently published an article in the American Journal of Education showing how some suburban ...
Moon younger than previously thought
2011-08-19
Analysis of a piece of lunar rock brought back to Earth by the Apollo 16 mission in 1972 has shown that the Moon may be much younger than previously believed. This is concluded in new research conducted by an international team of scientists that includes James Connelly from the Centre for Star and Planet Formation, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen. Their work has just been published in Nature.
The prevailing theory of our Moon's origin is that it was created by a giant impact between a large planet-like object and the proto-Earth very early ...
American Chemical Society launches new edition of popular Bytesize Science videos
2011-08-19
WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2011 –– The American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society, today launched a new edition of its award-winning Bytesize Science video series, which has been fascinating thousands of viewers of all ages since its inception in 2007. Bytesize Science has received accolades from the National Science Teachers Association, the National Education Association, the National Science Foundation and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The 2011 update refreshes Bytesize with a new logo and theme ("Uncover the Chemistry All Around ...
Study: College students not eating enough fruits and veggies
2011-08-19
CORVALLIS, Ore. – College students aren't eating enough fruits and vegetables – in fact, a new study shows students aren't even eating one serving per day, far from the recommended five daily servings.
The study by Oregon State University researchers surveyed the eating habits of 582 college students, a majority of which were first-year students. The study, now online in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, compares male and female students, but found that both were not getting the proper amount of fruits and vegetables. Male students had about five servings ...
Milk better than water to rehydrate kids: McMaster study
2011-08-19
Hamilton, ON (August 17, 2011) – Active children need to be watered with milk. It's a more effective way of countering dehydration than a sports drink or water itself, say researchers at McMaster University.
That's particularly important during hot summer weather, says Brian Timmons, research director of the Child Health and Exercise Medicine Program at McMaster and principal investigator of the study.
"Children become dehydrated during exercise, and it's important they get enough fluids, particularly before going into a second round of a game. Milk is better than ...