Brief report
Intraocular Pressure Over the Clinical Range of Blood Pressure: Blue Mountains Eye Study Findings

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajo.2004.12.088Get rights and content

Purpose

To quantify the relation of blood pressure (BP) and intraocular pressure (IOP) across the clinical range of BP in an older phakic population not using glaucoma medications.

Design

Cross-sectional population-based study

Methods

Seated BP and applanation IOP were measured, and their relation was assessed in regression models.

Results

Mean IOP of the two eyes increased linearly from 14.3 mm Hg for systolic BP <110 mm Hg to 17.7 mm Hg for systolic BP ≥200 mm Hg, a 3.4-mm Hg excursion over this range. Mean IOP also increased from 15.2 mm Hg for diastolic BP <70 to 18.4 mm Hg for diastolic BP ≥120, a similar variance. There were no changes after age and multivariate adjustments for IOP or after excluding undiagnosed glaucoma cases.

Conclusion

A 3-mm linear IOP increase over the clinical spectrum of BP levels was evident; this variance is greater than with most other systemic and ocular parameters.

References (5)

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  • Systemic Disease and Long-term Intraocular Pressure Mean, Peak, and Variability in Nonglaucomatous Eyes

    2018, American Journal of Ophthalmology
    Citation Excerpt :

    5 mm Hg) is considerably higher than the mean IOP of 13.1 mm Hg for male subjects, at the population level, who are underweight, never smoked, and do not have either diabetes or systolic hypertension, but take systemic beta-blockers (15.3 + -1.5 + 0 + 0 + 0 + -0.7 = 13.1 mm Hg). Although cross-sectional studies17,39,44,60–83 have identified a statistical association between systemic disease and IOP, and longitudinal studies39–48 have identified baseline systemic diseases that affect IOP over time (Table 4), our results in a homogenous cohort of older adults with a greater prevalence of systemic disease are novel because they address repeated IOP measurements over a 12-year time period, and they demonstrate the effect of systemic disease on additional IOP parameters beyond mean IOP, such as IOP peak and variability. While systemic beta-blocker use blunted IOP mean and peak, analyses demonstrate diabetes and systolic hypertension affected all IOP variables.

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