Association of smoking with intraocular pressure in middle-aged and older Japanese residents

INTRODUCTION:  There have been no studies investigating the interrelationship among intraocular pressure (IOP), blood viscosity, and smoking. Therefore, we attempted to clarify whether smoking was associated with elevated IOP, and to evaluate the interrelationship among IOP, blood viscosity, and smoking. The results of this study might contribute to preventing the progression of IOP-related optic nerve damage and visual-field defects in glaucoma patients.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study analyzed health examination data obtained between 2001 and 2004 from 1,113 individuals (829 men and 284 women), ranging in age from 28 to 79 years, who had not undergone any ocular surgery or medical treatment for hypertension, ocular hypertension, and glaucoma

RESULTS:  Multiple-regression analysis showed that systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), body mass index (BMI), and number of cigarette smoking per day had a significantly positive association with IOP in men (P < 0.05). In women also, SBP, DBP, BMI was positively related to IOP (P < 0.05). On the contrary, age had a significant negative association with IOP in both sexes (P < 0.01). Analysis of covariance and multiple logistic regression analyses showed that the adjusted mean IOP and the multivariate odds ratios for IOP increased with increasing cigarette consumption in men (P for trend = 0.01 and 0.06, respectively). Analysis of covariance found that smoking was significantly associated with both high IOP and high hematocrit in men (P for trend < 0.05); however, the adjusted mean IOP values were higher in smokers than in nonsmokers, regardless of the hematocrit level.

CONCLUSIONS:  The results of this study suggested that the IOP level may be substantially affected by smoking habit in middle-aged and older Japanese men.