Metabolic Syndrome Raises Risks of Vision Loss

Metabolic Syndrome is a collection of conditions that includes obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol and high triglyceride levels) that often precedes the onset of diabetes.  Joshua D. Stein, from the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center (Michigan, USA), and colleagues reviewed billing records of more than 2 million people, ages 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% increased risk of developing open-angle glaucoma, and those with hypertension alone had a 17% increased risk. For people with both diabetes and hypertension, the risk sharply increased to 48%.  The researchers urge that: “At a time when the prevalence of metabolic disorders in the United States, is increasing this study furthers our understanding of risk factors associated with [open-angle glaucoma] and helps identify persons who may be at increased risk for this condition.”