Deliberate dietary adjustments may not mitigate the progression of glaucoma: A two-sample Mendelian randomization...

Ocular diseases, including glaucoma, are significant contributors to visual impairment and irreversible blindness, impacting individuals' socioeconomic opportunities and quality of life. This study aimed to investigate the causal relationship between dietary components and glaucoma progression. We conducted Mendelian randomization studies to assess the effects of 4 dietary components (protein, carbohydrates, sugar, and fat) on glaucoma. A total of 11,417,548 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were screened, and after applying a stringent threshold, we retained relevant SNP markers for each dietary group. We employed 4 regression models: MR-Egger regression, a weighted median estimator, an inverse-variance weighted random-effects model, and a weighted model to analyze the data. The analysis revealed that all obtained P-values were greater than .05, indicating no significant association between dietary components and glaucoma. Additionally, sensitivity analyses using the leave-one-out method confirmed the robustness of these findings, showing that the removal of any SNP did not alter the conclusions. The findings suggest that deliberate dietary adjustments may not mitigate the progression of glaucoma. For now, adhering to prescribed medications and considering early surgical intervention when necessary may represent more effective treatments for glaucoma.