Associations Between Physical Activity and Glaucoma: Analysis of the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research...

No association between physical activity as measured by Fitbit and primary open angle glaucoma diagnosis was observed among adult participants in the All of Us Research Program.

To investigate the associations between physical activity and glaucoma diagnosis in the United States.

All subjects were adult participants in the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program. We defined a case cohort consisting of participants with Fitbit and electronic health record data with a diagnosis of primary open angle glaucoma (n=266). A control cohort consisted of participants with Fitbit and electronic health record data without primary open angle glaucoma diagnoses (n=7954). Descriptive analyses were performed on glaucoma and non-glaucoma cohorts' demographics including age, gender, race, ethnicity, Charlson Comorbidity Index, and ophthalmic and systemic beta-blocker prescriptions. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression adjusted for demographic factors, Charlson Comorbidity Index, and ophthalmic and systemic beta-blocker prescriptions was conducted for association between odds of glaucoma diagnosis and each physical activity metric. Age-stratified sub-analyses for patients older than 40 and older than 65 were performed.

Participants in the glaucoma cohort had a significantly lower step count (6673 vs. 6891, P=0.04) and lower lightly active minutes (180 vs. 193, P<0.001). Step count and lightly active minutes did not remain significant in multivariable models, and all other activity metrics were not significant in multivariable models. These results were recapitulated in age-stratified analyses.

There were no definitive associations between physical activity and primary open angle glaucoma diagnosis among All of Us participants, which was replicated among age-stratified subgroup analyses.