A new study has found that tobacco and alcohol use did not significantly affect the rate of change of the retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL), while a high body mass index (BMI) was associated with slower structural changes in the visual fields.1
The study authors said while studies of obesity and tobacco and alcohol consumption showed their impact on many chronic diseases, none had mentioned an effect on glaucoma progression.
The research included a total of 2,839 eyes (1,584 patients) with glaucoma from the Duke Ophthalmic Registry. All patients had undergone at least two spectral-domain optical coherency tomography (SD-OCT) tests over a minimum six-month follow-up.
Self-reported information about alcohol and tobacco use was obtained from electronic health records and the mean BMI was calculated.
A history of tobacco or alcohol consumption was reported by 43% and 54% of patients, respectively, and 34% of patients were obese.
The primary findings were that a higher BMI was protective against glaucoma progression (0.014 µm/year slower per each 1 kg/m2 higher; p=0.011), and use of tobacco and alcohol were not significantly associated with RNFL change rates (p=0.473 and p=0.471, respectively). Underweight patients had significantly faster rates of structural loss (−0.768 µm/year; p=0.002) compared with those who had a normal weight.
Reference
- Youssif AA, Onyekaba NA, Medeiros FA, et al. Social history and glaucoma progression: the effect of body mass index, tobacco and alcohol consumption on the rates of structural change in patients with glaucoma. Br J Ophthalmol. 2024 Nov 22;108(12):1694-1700. doi: 10.1136/bjo-2023-323186.
