A study investigating the prevalence of vitreomacular interface abnormalities in a French elderly population with glaucoma found that prevalence was high in both glaucomatous and non-glaucomatous eyes. Researchers also highlight macular optical coherence tomography (OCT) as a fundamental tool for following up on patients with glaucoma for early detection of vitreomacular interface abnormalities.

The study analyzed 1,130 participants of the Maculopathy Optic Nerve Nutrition Neurovascular and Heart Disease study. Regarding abnormality frequency , there was no statistical difference between patients with and without glaucoma (51.85% vs. 53.92%). Vitreomacular adherences were more frequent in participants without glaucoma (18.39% vs. 10.78%), while epiretinal membranes were more frequent in those with glaucoma (47.06% vs. 38.13%). Macular cysts were comparably prevalent between the two groups (7.84% vs. 5.64%). Researchers found that macular cysts were more frequent in eyes treated with preservative-free, intraocular pressure (IOP)-lowering eye drops when compared with the eyes of those without glaucoma treated with IOP-lowering eye drops containing a preservative; however, multivariate analysis made these results no longer significant.

Because of the high prevalence rate of vitreomacular interface abnormalities, the study warns macular OCT users to interpret ganglion cell complex thickness in elderly, glaucomatous patients with caution.