Study Ties Statins to Lower Glaucoma Risk and Fewer Surgeries

Common cholesterol-lowering statin medications are associated with a 15% lower risk of developing open-angle glaucoma over five years, alongside a substantially reduced need for laser treatments or eye surgeries among patients already diagnosed with the condition, according to a study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Evaluating Five-Year and Ten-Year Glaucoma Risks Among Statin Users

Led by Forest Lin of the Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida in Tampa, researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study using de-identified health records from the TriNetX network. To assess the onset of the disease, the team compared 210,701 adults aged 40 or older who had an eye exam within a year before starting a statin with an equal number of matched adults who had eye care records but no record of statin use. Individuals with a prior diagnosis of glaucoma were excluded from this initial incidence cohort.

At the five-year mark, statin use was tied to a 15% lower risk of developing open-angle glaucoma. The associations remained evident, although somewhat weaker, at the ten-year mark, where statins were associated with a 10% lower risk of developing the condition. For patients specifically taking atorvastatin, the ten-year analysis revealed a 17% lower risk of developing open-angle glaucoma, with consistent results also observed for rosuvastatin.

Measuring the Reduced Need for Surgical Interventions and Eye Drops

Beyond preventing initial onset, researchers investigated whether statin therapy altered the trajectory of disease progression for those already diagnosed.

Among patients with established glaucoma, the five-year data showed that statin use was associated with a 36% lower risk for incisional glaucoma surgery, a 55% lower risk for minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS), a 60% lower risk for selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT), and an 11% lower risk for a prescription for pressure-lowering eye drops. At ten years, these protective associations persisted. Statin use remained linked to a 32% lower risk for incisional glaucoma surgery, a 46% lower risk for MIGS, a 51% lower risk for SLT, and a 12% lower risk for pressure-lowering eye drops.

Additional coverage highlighted insights from senior author Dr. Robert Weinreb, director of the Hamilton Glaucoma Center at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, who explained the pharmacological mechanisms behind the findings. Statins are known to have pleiotropic effects beyond cholesterol lowering, including anti-inflammatory and potential neuroprotective properties, Dr. Weinreb stated, adding that this study suggests those effects could be relevant to optic nerve health.

Despite the broad scope of mining records from a global database covering approximately 165 million individuals—a collaborative effort spanning UC San Diego, the University of South Florida, and the University of Southern California—the observational design carries inherent limitations. The database lacked optic nerve scans, visual field and vision tests, and intraocular pressure readings. Consequently, researchers could not gauge individual disease severity or progression, nor could they adjust for intraocular pressure even though statins might affect it.

The dataset also did not explain the specific clinical rationale for why patients underwent surgery or laser treatment. Some procedures may have been performed because patients could not tolerate or did not take eye drops, rather than due to disease worsening. The analysis also did not account for patients’ concurrent use of intraocular pressure-lowering eye drops.

Nevertheless, the study authors emphasized the clinical relevance of their findings. Reflecting on the wide-ranging public health implications if these findings are validated by future randomized clinical trials, Dr. Weinreb noted, If this association is confirmed in future studies, it could have implications for a very large number of people.