Scientists in Taiwan have found that people with sleep apnea are at an increased risk of developing glaucoma, a disease that damages the eye's optic nerve causing blindness.
Sleep apnea is a chronic condition that blocks breathing during sleep and afflicts more than 100 million people worldwide. Obstructive sleep apnea can stop breathing for up to two minutes. According to a Delta Sleep Labs report, over 18 million people suffer from this disorder and 10 million remain undiagnosed. More than half of sleep apnea diagnoses take place among adults aged 40 and above and it is more prevalent in men than women.
A recent study conducted by researchers from Taipei Medical University found that people with this disorder are more likely to develop glaucoma, a disease that damages the eye's optic nerve causing blindness.
"We hope that this study encourages clinicians to alert obstructive sleep apnea patients of the associations between obstructive sleep apnea and open-angle glaucoma as a means of raising the issue and encouraging treatment of those who need it," said lead researcher Herng-Ching Lin, and colleagues from the College of Medical Science and Technology at Taipei Medical University, in a press statement.
The study published online in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, is the first of its kind to link eye diseases to sleeping disorders. After examining medical records of more than 7,000 patients, researchers of the study found that people with an obstructive sleep apnea were 1.67 times more likely to develop open-angle glaucoma within 5 years of being diagnosed with the disorder.
Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness, cataracts being the first. Ten percent of patients who receive treatment for the diseases still experience loss of vision. According to reports, over 2.2 million Americans have the disease but only half of them are aware of it. One of the main reasons why people are unaware of the disease is because it is painless and vision loss is typically gradual. Approximately, 120,000 blind cases in the U.S. are caused by glaucoma.
Currently, there is no cure for glaucoma and lost vision due to the disease cannot be regained. However, medical treatment can prevent further loss of vision. Open-angle glaucoma is a chronic disease that needs to be monitored for life. The disease has no age restrictions. Though it is more common among older adults, babies can also be born with glaucoma.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology suggests that all adults should get a baseline eye exam from an ophthalmologist done by the age of 40, since first signs of the disease usually start showing around this age.
