Statin Use Linked to Lower Risk for Glaucoma Incidence

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 7, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Statin use is associated with a lower risk for glaucoma incidence and treatment escalation, according to a study published online Oct. 6 in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Forest Lin, from the Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida in Tampa, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study to examine the relationship between statin use and glaucoma using the TriNetX database. The open-angle glaucoma (OAG) incidence analysis included 210,701 matched patients aged older than 40 years with statin use and ophthalmological follow-up within one year prior. The OAG treatment analysis included 29,598 matched patients with glaucoma and concurrent statin use.

The researchers found that statin use was associated with a reduced risk for OAG incidence at five years (hazard ratio, 0.85), as well as treatment escalation to incisional glaucoma surgery, minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS), or selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT; hazard ratios, 0.64, 0.45, and 0.40, respectively) and with lower rates of topical ocular hypotensive prescription (hazard ratio. 0.89). Statin use was associated with a lower risk for OAG incidence at 10 years (hazard ratio, 0.90); with escalation to incisional glaucoma surgery, MIGS, or SLT (hazard ratios, 0.68, 0.54, and 0.49, respectively); and with lower rates of topical ocular hypotensive prescription (hazard ratio, 0.88).

“These findings add to the growing literature surrounding the use of neuroprotective agents that complement ocular hypotensive medications or can be used independently of them to treat and prevent glaucoma,” the authors write.

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