Researchers recently found that primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is associated with pre-existing hypertension (HTN).

This case-control study evaluated 112,929 newly diagnosed cases of POAG and 449,840 controls from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance system to assess the potential prevalence of prior HTN.

Of the total 562,300 patients who were included, the team discovered that 52.81% had prior HTN—56.49% of the glaucoma cases and 51.90% of controls. They noted that POAG was significantly associated with prior HTN after adjusting for several factors, with an odds ratio of 1.31.

These findings suggest that “internal medicine/family medicine physicians should refer patients with HTN periodically for regular ophthalmological examinations, and ophthalmologists should alert patients with glaucoma to have their blood pressure regularly monitored,” the study authors concluded in their paper.