Red and/or blonde hair association with pigmentary glaucoma in Israel

To assess the prevalence of red and/or blonde hair in a defined pigmentary glaucoma (PG) population and to compare their clinical findings with those of PG patients with black or brown hair.

Hair color was studied in 35 consecutive PG patients and 35 consecutive primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) patients who served as controls. Patients were classified into red and/or blonde hair group or into black or brown hair group. Clinical characteristics were contrasted between PG patients of red and/or blonde hair with PG patients of black or brown hair.

Of the 35 PG patients, 19 (54.3%) had red and/or blonde hair and 16 (45.7%) had black or brown hair. Of the 35 POAG patients, two (5.8%) had red and/or blonde hair and 33 (94.2%) had black or brown hair. This difference in prevalence of hair color is highly significant (P < 0.001; chi2). Clinical characteristics of the PG patients (age at initial diagnosis, gender, positive family history for glaucoma, initial IOP, refraction, severity of optic nerve damage and prevalence of retinal detachment) were similar in the red and/or blonde hair and the black or brown hair groups.

A very high prevalence of red and/or blonde hair was found among PG patients in Israel. Should supportive evidence for this association accumulate subsequent to this report, screening of people with these hair colors for PG may be justified.