Sociodemographic, family history, and lifestyle risk factors for open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension. The Los Angeles Latino Eye Study

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between sociodemographic, family history, and lifestyle risk factors and open-angle glaucoma (OAG) and ocular hypertension (OHT) in Latinos.

Design: Population-based cohort study.

Participants: Latinos 40 years and older from 6 census tracts in La Puente, California.

Methods: Participants underwent an in-home interview and in-clinic examination. Demographic, lifestyle, and family history variables were analyzed as risk factors using multivariable regression models to identify independent associations with OAG or OHT.

Main outcome measures: Open-angle glaucoma and OHT.

Results: Two hundred eighty-nine participants were diagnosed as having OAG, 219 were found to have OHT, and 5624 persons had no evidence of either OAG or OHT. After adjustment for intraocular pressure, stepwise logistic regression analyses revealed that older age, male gender, unmarried marital status, and being a first-degree relative were independent risk factors for OAG. For age, the relative risk doubled with each decade. Males and unmarried participants had a higher risk of having glaucoma than females and those who were married (odds ratio [OR], 1.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.30-2.30, and OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.03-1.87, respectively). A positive family history of glaucoma in first-degree relatives was a risk factor for OAG (OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.25-2.94). Smoking, alcohol use, and female reproductive hormone use were not associated with OAG. Additionally, increasing age, Native American ancestry, unemployed status, and family history of glaucoma were found to be independent factors for increased risk of OHT.

Conclusions: Although the mechanisms whereby age and family history lead to increased risk are partly understood, further study is needed to understand the biological significance of the other demographic risk factors identified such as male gender and unmarried status.