High prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma

Purpose: Elevated intraocular pressure and systemic hemodynamic changes are main risk factors in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) characterized by snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness and insomnia is accompanied by large swings in blood pressure and repetitive hy poxic periods during sleep. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether t here is any relationship between SDB and POAG. Methods: Consecutively, 212 outpatients with POAG and 218 outpatients witho ut POAG were recruited. Both eyes were examined. An interviewer-administere d semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect SDB-related symptoms. Results: After controlling for age, relative to control group, POAG patient s showed a high prevalence of snoring (47.6%, p=0.04), snoring plus, excess ive daytime sleepiness (27.3%, p=0.01) and snoring plus, excessive daytime sleepiness plus insomnia (14.6%, p=0.01). Conclusion: We found a high prevalence of SDB in patients with POAG. Chroni c hemodynamic changes and recurrent severe hypoxia resulting from SDB may c ontribute to anoxic optic nerve damage, implicated in glaucoma.