New study links active lifestyle to reduced risk of glaucoma

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/afri-pfc102411.php

Public release date: 24-Oct-2011
Contact: Katrina Norfleet
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
Physical fitness could have a positive effect on eye health
New study links active lifestyle to reduced risk of glaucoma

Rockville, MD -- Physical activity may be what the doctor orders to help patients reduce their risk of developing glaucoma. According to a recently published scientific paper, higher levels of physical exercise appear to have a long-term beneficial impact on low ocular perfusion pressure (OPP), an important risk factor for glaucoma.

Published in the Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science journal (Physical Activity and Ocular Perfusion Pressure: The EPIC-Norfolk Eye Study), this study examined the relationship between physical activity and current OPP in 5,650 men and women aged 48 to 90 who live in the U.K. and were part of initial cohort from 1993 - 1997.

Using a detailed self-administered health and lifestyle questionnaire, participants were assessed for combined physical activity at work and leisure. From 2006 to 2010, study participants were examined for eye pressure -- medically termed intraocular pressure (IOP )-- and systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements. The results showed that moderate physical exercise performed approximately 15 years previously is associated with a 25% reduced risk of low OPP.

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