For a study, researchers sought to see if patients with metabolic syndrome were more likely to develop glaucomatous optic neuropathy, also known as glaucoma and ocular hypertension. Patients in Olmsted County, Minnesota, were identified as having metabolic syndrome based on diagnosis codes, laboratory values, and medication use that met 3 or more of the 5 standard criteria for diagnosing metabolic syndrome: systemic hypertension, hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and central adiposity defined by increased BMI. Patients with glaucoma, including primary open-angle, low tension, pigment dispersion, and pseudoexfoliation, were identified using diagnostic codes. Individual glaucoma patients’ charts were reviewed to collect visual acuity, intraocular pressure, cup to disc ratio, central corneal thickness, visual field mean deviation, retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, and intraocular pressure treatment. Patients with ocular hypertension were identified and evaluated separately. Patients with glaucoma with metabolic syndrome had higher intraocular pressure and greater central corneal thickness than those without. After adjusting for central corneal thickness, there was no significant difference in intraocular pressure between groups. Metabolic syndrome was also linked to the diagnosis of ocular hypertension, and while central corneal thickness was higher in patients with metabolic syndrome, the difference was not statistically significant. Though metabolic syndrome was linked to ocular hypertension and higher intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients in Olmsted County, the findings were likely due to a thicker central cornea in this patient population.
