Association between risk factors and glaucomatous damage in untreated primary open-angle glaucoma

To analyze an association between the presumed risk factors for glaucoma and the actual extent of glaucomatous damage in untreated primary open-angle glaucoma.

In 50 untreated open-angle glaucoma patients, we analyzed an association between the level of glaucomatous damage and presumed glaucoma risk factors: mean untreated intraocular pressure (IOP) and short-term IOP variability, ocular pulse amplitude, corneal thickness, acral and corneal temperature, retinal arterial diameter and retinal venous diameter, choroidal blood flow (laser Doppler flowmetry flow, velocity, volume), heart rate, and ocular perfusion pressure. Morphologic damage (mean retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, measured by ocular coherence tomography) and functional damage (visual field mean defect) were evaluated separately in 2 forward-stepwise multiple regression models.

The mean retinal nerve fiber layer thickness was significantly (P<0.05) associated with IOP (r=-0.35), retinal arterial diameter (r=0.36), and choroidal blood flow (r=0.30); mean defect was associated with ocular perfusion pressure (r=-0.30), laser Doppler flowmetry volume (r=-0.33), and IOP variability (0.36).

Despite small differences between the morphologic and functional glaucomatous damage, IOP and perfusion parameters seem to contribute, at least in part, independently to both.