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Updated: May 18, 2026

In Vivo Dynamics of Retinal Microglial Activation During Neurodegeneration: Confocal Ophthalmoscopic Imaging and Cell Morphometry in Mouse Glaucoma
Published on: May 11, 2015
Glaucoma, Alzheimer disease and other dementia: a longitudinal analysis
Yvonne Ou1, Daniel S Grossman, Paul P Lee
1Department of Ophthalmology, Duke University Eye Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Purpose:
To evaluate the risk of developing Alzheimer disease (AD) or other dementia in patients diagnosed with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) in a nationally representative longitudinal sample of elderly persons.
Methods:
This retrospective cohort study (January 1, 1994-December 31, 2007) used Medicare 5% claims data. We identified beneficiaries aged 68+ years who had at least two claims with diagnoses of OAG and no Alzheimer or other dementia in 1994, using a 3-year look-back period between 1991 and 1993 (n = 63,235) and beneficiaries matched on age, sex, race, and Charlson index without a diagnosis of OAG throughout the observational period (n = 63,235), using propensity score matching. Using a Cox Proportional Hazards model, we analyzed time to AD diagnosis and time to AD or other dementia diagnosis.
Results:
Elderly individuals diagnosed with OAG did not have an increased rate of AD and other dementia diagnosis compared to those without OAG during a 14-year follow-up period, even after controlling for relevant covariates present at baseline.
Conclusions:
Individuals aged 68+ years diagnosed with OAG have a decreased rate of AD or other dementia diagnosis compared to control patients without an OAG diagnosis. Although OAG and AD are both age-related neurodegenerative diseases, our findings do not support a positive association.
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