Dr Oscar Duke, appearing on BBC Morning Live, has explained the findings of major new research into statins and their potential effect on glaucoma. Statins are prescription medications used to lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Study findings on statins and glaucoma
Fresh research published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology indicates that taking cholesterol-lowering statins is linked with a lower risk of developing open-angle glaucoma and a decreased need for intensive treatments or surgery.
Speaking on BBC Morning Live, Dr Duke said: "I always want to be hopeful as someone myself with not a lot of eyesight to lose left. Um, anything that can help would be fantastic. And glaucoma is one of those conditions that we don't have a cure for, but we do have great treatments for potentially. So, lots that can be done. But what about statins? Well, we know statins are really good at lowering cholesterol, reducing our risk of heart attacks and strokes. But can they help us with glaucoma?"
Details of the California study
Dr Duke explained the findings came from an extensive study which examined more than 200,000 people: "This is a study that's been done in the US in California. And what they did was they followed people, 210,000 people, looked at their data, those who were on statins, and then compared with 210,000 people who weren't taking statins."
"They found that if you were taking a statin over a five-year period, then there was a 15% reduction in your risk of glaucoma. Now there are quite a few caveats to this. So this is one of those studies that can show an association but not a definite cause as I often talk about. So really important to think about that. We don't know for certain that it's the statin causing that. Actually, in the study, when they looked over a longer time period, over 10 years, there was a slightly less reduction in the glaucoma in those people taking statins."
Long-term use and further research
He went on to note that some research has actually indicated that prolonged statin use over an extended period could marginally increase the risk of developing glaucoma.
Dr Duke said: "The honest answer is it's interesting. We don't know exactly what this relationship is. It certainly doesn't mean that we've got enough evidence at the moment to say take a statin and you won't get glaucoma or it will significantly reduce your risk. But the study did also show that those who had glaucoma and were taking statins were less likely to need strong treatments."
"So they talked in the film about first having some drops and perhaps having some laser treatments and you are less likely to need to go up to that level or even higher levels of having surgery treatments if you were taking statins. So I think what's going to happen is more research will be done. We'll do a formal study to really evaluate this over time and hopefully we'll find a link that we can use because statins are broadly a very safe treatment for most people."
The researchers said future randomised trials were required to examine the impact of statins on the progression and management of glaucoma. Those taking statins also had a 60% reduced likelihood of undergoing selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) and an 11% lower chance of needing eye drops to alleviate pressure in the eye. This reduced risk persisted after ten years.
Statins are commonly prescribed to reduce cholesterol levels, and earlier research has indicated they may also help prevent or decelerate nerve cell deterioration. However, separate studies have associated prolonged statin use with elevated eye pressure and a heightened risk of developing glaucoma.
