Taking statins is linked to a lower risk of developing glaucoma and a reduced chance of it getting worse, suggest the findings of research published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
People who already have glaucoma who are taking statins appear less likely to need stronger treatments like extra eye drops or surgery to keep it under control, the US study finds.
Glaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible blindness, is caused by permanent damage to the optic nerve.
Statins are prescribed to lower cholesterol levels but studies have indicated that they may also prevent or slow nerve cell death. Their potential role in preventing or slowing down glaucoma is poorly understood.
To strengthen the evidence base, researchers searched a large global database covering 165 million individuals.
They compared more than 210 000 people who had a record of statin use between August 2006 and August 2026 with a matched control group of 210 000 people who had no record of using statins. Individuals in both groups had to have a recorded ophthalmological follow up.
Statin use was associated with a 15% lower risk of developing open angle glaucoma, the researchers found.
At five years, there were 4771 new diagnoses of glaucoma in the statin group (2.3%) and 5491 in the control group (2.6%).
In a separate analysis, more than 30 000 individuals with glaucoma who were taking statins were compared with almost 250 000 individuals with glaucoma who were not taking statins.
Statins were linked to a lower risk of the individual progressing to need glaucoma surgery or other treatment.
At five years, statin use was associated with a 36% lower risk of incisional glaucoma surgery and a 55% reduced risk of minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) - a keyhole procedure to lower the intraocular pressure in the eye.
Statins were also associated with a 60% lower risk of selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) - a procedure that lowers the pressure in the eye by using laser pulses. There was also a 12% reduced risk of eye drops to reduce the pressure in the eye linked to statin use.
After 10 years, statin use continued to be associated with a lower risk of incision glaucoma surgery, MIGS, SLT, and use of eye drops, the researchers found.
This is an observational study and as such, no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect.
Another limitation of the study is that the researchers did not have access to individual patient data, including intraocular pressure measurements or surgical details
This means they were unable to determine whether surgery was performed due to increased disease severity or because the patient was not adhering to treatment.
Nevertheless, they say their findings add to the growing literature about the neuroprotective effect of statins. Prospective randomised trials are now needed to better understand the effects of statin use on glaucoma incidence and treatment, they add.
"Our findings suggest that statin usage is associated with both lower incidence of primary open-angle glaucoma as well as decreased treatment escalation, "the researchers say.
