TOPLINE:

Open-angle glaucoma (OAG) was associated with a “modest” but significant risk for early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in middle-aged adults, particularly in men, a new study showed.

METHODOLOGY:

• A case-control study used 2006-2022 data from a Japanese administrative claims database for adults aged 40-64 years. The analysis included more than 2000 patients with early-onset AD who were matched 4:1 with more than 9300 control individuals without AD (both groups, mean age, 58 years; 53.5% men).
• OAG exposure was defined as a diagnosis received at least 12 months before the index date of the first AD medication prescription.
• Outcomes included the association between prior OAG and risk for early-onset AD and associations between AD and comorbidities.

TAKEAWAY:

• Overall, 16% of patients in the AD group had OAG vs 12.5% of the non-AD group (P < .001); OAG was associated with a 22% higher risk for early-onset AD (P = .006).
• Early-onset AD also showed significant associations with depression (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 7.8; P < .001), excessive alcohol consumption (aOR, 2.35; P < .001), diabetes (aOR, 1.6; P < .001), and hypertension (aOR, 1.15; P = .02) — but not with dyslipidemia, hearing loss, or obesity.
• The association between OAG and early-onset AD was significant in men (OR, 1.3; P = .005) but not in women.

IN PRACTICE:

“In conclusion, individuals with OAG exhibit a modestly increased risk of developing [early-onset AD] and should be monitored for cognitive symptoms to facilitate early detection and timely intervention,” the investigators wrote.

However, they added that more studies are needed to understand the underlying mechanisms behind these associations.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Yuto Yoshida, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. It was published online on December 29 in Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

LIMITATIONS:

This study relied on International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) codes from claims data rather than detailed clinical records for OAG diagnosis. The definition of early-onset AD was based on both ICD-10 codes and medication prescriptions, which may have led to under-ascertainment of untreated or mildly affected individuals. Confounding factors such as educational level, lifestyle, and traumatic brain injuries were not captured in the dataset. Additionally, the findings may not be generalizable to other populations.

DISCLOSURES:

The investigators reported no relevant conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.