EC Ophthalmology

Research Article Volume 14 Issue 4 - 2023

Chronic Glaucoma, Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Diabetic Retinopathy and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Case-Control Study

Alexandros Tsilis1* and Sygkliti-Henrietta Pelidou2

1Faculty of Medicine, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
2Department of Neurology, University of Ioannina School of Medicine, Ioannina, Greece

*Corresponding Author: Alexandros Tsilis, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece.
Received: March 01, 2023; Published: March 31, 2023




Objective of the Study: The purpose of the current case-control study is to evaluate the incidence rate of chronic glaucoma (CGL), age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR) and other clinical parameters with Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Materials and Methods: A case-control study was conducted from February 2020 through October 2021. A total of one hundred and sixty-five participants were enrolled. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 26.0.

Results: 165 persons were enrolled in the clinical study with a mean age of 75.62 ± 1.22 years. Oh these, 41 individuals were diagnosed with AD, of which 2 persons had chronic glaucoma (4.88%), 5 persons had AMD (12.20%) and 14 persons had DR (34.15%) and 124 persons were non-demented, of which 4 individuals had chronic glaucoma (3.23%), 14 individuals had AMD (11.29%) and 36 individuals had DR (29.03%) respectively. Age and total cholesterol (TCHOL) had a statistically significant positive association with AD, respectively (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.13 - 1.34, OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.02 - 1.07), whereas triglycerides (TG), best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), alcohol and smoking had a statistically significant inverse association with AD, respectively (OR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.89 - 0.97, OR, 0.31; 95% CI, 0.19 - 0.50, OR, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.07 - 0.33, OR, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.04 - 0.81). The association of CGL, AMD and DR with AD was estimated statistically as non-significant.

Conclusion: There is no statistical significant association between CGL, AMD and DR with AD. Age, TCHOL, TG, BCVA, alcohol and smoking had a statistical significant association with AD.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s Disease; Chronic Glaucoma; Age-Related Macular Degeneration; Diabetic Retinopathy

  1. Lee CS., et al. “Associations between recent and established ophthalmic conditions and risk of Alzheimer's disease”. Alzheimer's and Dementia1 (2019): 34-41.
  2. London A., et al. “The retina as a window to the brain-from eye research to CNS disorders”. Nature Reviews Neurology1 (2013): 44-53.
  3. Mancino R., et al. “Glaucoma and Alzheimer Disease: One Age-Related Neurodegenerative Disease of the Brain”. Current Neuropharmacology7 (2018): 971-977.
  4. Reitz C., et al. “Epidemiology of Alzheimer disease”. Nature Reviews Neurology3 (2011): 137-152.
  5. Alzheimer’s Association. 2015 “Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures”. Alzheimer's and Dementia3 (2015): 332-384.
  6. Querfurth HW., et al. “Alzheimer's disease”. The New England Journal of Medicine4 (2010): 329-344.
  7. Harris FM., et al. “Carboxyl-terminal-truncated apolipoprotein E4 causes Alzheimer's disease-like neurodegeneration and behavioral deficits in transgenic mice”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America19 (2003): 10966-10971.
  8. Selkoe DJ. “The molecular pathology of Alzheimer's disease”. Neuron4 (1991): 487-498.
  9. Tanzi RE., et al. “New frontiers in Alzheimer’s disease genetics”. Neuron2 (2001): 181-184.
  10. Sivak JM. “The aging eye: common degenerative mechanisms between the Alzheimer’s brain and retinal disease”. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science1 (2013): 871-880.
  11. Boland MV., et al. “Treatment for Glaucoma: Comparative Effectiveness”. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US) (2012).
  12. American Academy of Ophthalmology. Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Preferred Practice Patterns. San Francisco: American Academy of Ophthalmology (2010).
  13. Quigley HA., et al. “The number of people with glaucoma worldwide in 2010 and 2020”. British Journal of Ophthalmology3 (2006): 262-267.
  14. Nickells RW., et al. “Under pressure: cellular and molecular responses during glaucoma, a common neurodegeneration with axonopathy”. Annual Review of Neuroscience 35 (2012): 153-179.
  15. Kaarniranta K., et al. “Age-related macular degeneration (AMD): Alzheimer's disease in the eye?” Journal of Alzheimer's Disease4 (2011): 615-631.
  16. Klein R., et al. “Prevalence of age-related maculopathy”. The Beaver Dam Eye Study”. Ophthalmology6 (1992): 933-943.
  17. Friedman DS., et al. “Eye Diseases Prevalence Research Group. Prevalence of age-related macular degeneration in the United States”. Archives of Ophthalmology4 (2004): 564-572.
  18. Heng LZ., et al. “Diabetic retinopathy: pathogenesis, clinical grading, management and future developments”. Diabetic Medicine6 (2013): 640-650.
  19. Chandra V., et al. “Conditions associated with Alzheimer’s disease at death: case-control study”. Neurology2 (1986): 209-211.
  20. Bayer AU., et al. “Association of glaucoma with neurodegenerative diseases with apoptotic cell death: Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease”. American Journal of Ophthalmology1 (2002): 135-137.
  21. Bayer AU., et al. “High occurrence rate of glaucoma among patients with Alzheimer’s disease”. European Neurology3 (2002): 165-168.
  22. Tamura H., et al. “High frequency of open-angle glaucoma in Japanese patients with Alzheimer’s disease”. Journal of the Neurological Sciences1-2 (2006): 79-83.
  23. Helmer C., et al. “Is there a link between open-angle glaucoma and dementia? The Three-City-Alienor cohort”. Annals of Neurology2 (2013): 171-179.
  24. Cumurcu T., et al. “Is there any relation between pseudoexfoliation syndrome and Alzheimer’s type dementia?” Seminars in Ophthalmology4 (2013): 224-229.
  25. Khandhadia S., et al. “Age-related macular degeneration”. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 724 (2012): 15-36.
  26. Ohno-Matsui K. “Parallel findings in age-related macular degeneration and Alzheimer’s disease”. Progress in Retinal and Eye Research4 (2011): 217-238.
  27. Keenan TD., et al. “Associations between age-related macular degeneration, Alzheimer disease, and dementia: record linkage study of hospital admissions”. The Journal of the American Medical Association Ophthalmology1 (2014): 63-68.
  28. McKhann G., et al. “Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease: report of the NINCDS-ADRDA Work Group under the auspices of Department of Health and Human Services Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease”. Neurology7 (1984): 939-944.
  29. Ferris FL 3rd., et al. “Beckman Initiative for Macular Research Classification Committee. Clinical classification of age-related macular degeneration”. Ophthalmology4 (2013): 844-851.
  30. Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group. “A randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial of high-dose supplementation with vitamins C and E, beta carotene, and zinc for age-related macular degeneration and vision loss: AREDS report no. 8”. Archives of Ophthalmology10 (2001): 1417-1436.
  31. Wilkinson CP., et al. “Global Diabetic Retinopathy Project Group. Proposed international clinical diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema disease severity scales”. Ophthalmology9 (2003): 1677-1682.
  32. Hebert LE., et al. “Alzheimer disease in the United States (2010–2050) estimated using the 2010 census”. Neurology19 (2013): 1778-1783.
  33. Rusanen M., et al. “Heavy smoking in midlife and long-term risk of Alzheimer disease and vascular dementia”. Archives of Internal Medicine4 (2011): 333-339.
  34. Anstey KJ., et al. “Body mass index in midlife and late-life as a risk factor for dementia: A meta-analysis of prospective studies”. Obesity Reviews5 (2011): e426-e437.
  35. Gudala K., et al. “Diabetes mellitus and risk of dementia: A meta-analysis of prospective observational studies”. Journal of Diabetes Investigation6 (2013): 640-650.
  36. Vagelatos NT., et al. “Type 2 diabetes as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease: the confounders, interactions, and neuropathology associated with this relationship”. Epidemiologic Reviews 35 (2013): 152-160.
  37. Ronnemaa E., et al. “Vascular risk factors and dementia: 40-year follow-up of a population-based cohort”. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders6 (2011): 460-466.
  38. Launer LJ., et al. “Midlife blood pressure and dementia: the Honolulu-Asia aging study”. Neurobiology of Aging1 (2000): 49-55.
  39. Ninomiya T., et al. “Midlife and late-life blood pressure and dementia in Japanese elderly: the Hisayama study”. Hypertension1 (2011): 22-28.
  40. Debette S., et al. “Midlife vascular risk factor exposure accelerates structural brain aging and cognitive decline”. Neurology5 (2011): 461-468.
  41. Solomon A., et al. “Midlife serum cholesterol and increased risk of Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia three decades later”. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders1 (2009): 75-80.
  42. Meng XF., et al. “Midlife vascular risk factors and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis”. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease4 (2014): 1295-1310.
  43. Ritchie K., et al. “Epidemiology of alcohol-related dementia”. Handbook of Clinical Neurology 89 (2008): 845-850.
  44. Ridley NJ., et al. “Alcohol-related dementia: an update of the evidence”. Alzheimer's Research and Therapy1 (2013): 3.
  45. Guo Z., et al. “Low blood pressure and dementia in elderly people: the Kungsholmen project”. British Medical Journal7034 (1996): 805-808.
  46. Morris MC., et al. “The cross-sectional association between blood pressure and Alzheimer’s disease in a biracial community population of older persons”. The Journals of Gerontology Series A Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences3 (2000): M130-M136.
  47. Rockwood K., et al. “High blood pressure and dementia”. Lancet9019 (1996): 65.

Alexandros Tsilis and Sygkliti-Henrietta Pelidou. Chronic Glaucoma, Age-Related Macular Degeneration, Diabetic Retinopathy and Alzheimer’s Disease: A Case-Control Study. EC Ophthalmology 14.4 (2023): 22-29.

ECronicon Journal

Our Services

Quick Links

Information

Creative Commons LicenseOpen Access by ECronicon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Based on a work at www.ecronicon.net