Is There a Link Between Carbohydrates and Glaucoma?

There appears to be a direct link between consuming carbohydrates and glaucoma incidence, according to a prospective cohort study involving >18,000 individuals. None of 9 food types analyzed were found to individually increase risk; rather, total carbohydrate intake seems to be the culprit. The authors—who presented their results in a poster presentation during the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s 2018 annual meeting in Chicago—added that their findings need to be confirmed in other studies.

Participants were part of the SUN cohort. Investigators followed them for a median of 10 years, looking at both carbohydrate intake and development of glaucoma. The following food types were evaluated: alcohol, beverages, dairy, fruits, legumes, meat and fish, refined carbohydrates, vegetables, and whole grains. Researchers divided the group into quartiles based on total levels of carbohydrates consumed. Glaucoma incidence was determined via questionnaires administered every 2 years. After adjusting for certain variables, researchers found that:

• Patients in the quartile with the highest carbohydrate intake (74.1 to 760 g/day) were 50% more likely to develop glaucoma than those in the lowest quartile (9.7 to 411.7 g/day).
• Patients in the third highest quartile (47 to 464.9 g/day) were 47% more likely.
• Those in the second quartile (22.9 to 442.4 g/day) were 29% more likely.

Fernandez-Montero A, Navarra M, Martinez-Gonzalez M, Ruiz Canela M, Moreno J. Carbohydrate intake and risk of glaucoma in the SUN Cohort. Poster presented at: AAO 2018 annual meeting; October, 26-30, 2018; Chicago.