Open-Angle Glaucoma, Erectile Dysfunction Linked

Men with erectile dysfunction (ED) are almost three times more likely to have been previously diagnosed with glaucoma, according to a study published in Ophthalmology (2012;119:289-293).
Noting that both open-angle glaucoma and ED are associated with metabolic and cardiovascular disorders, Shiu-Dong Chung, MD, of Taipei Medical University in Taiwan, and colleagues examined whether ED was associated with glaucoma in 4,605 men with ED and 23,025 control subjects.
The researchers found that 1.1% of men with ED had been diagnosed with glaucoma compared with only 0.4% of control subjects. After adjusting for potential confounders, men with ED had a 2.85 times increased likelihood of having a prior glaucoma diagnosis compared with men who did not have ED.
"To our knowledge, this is the first study to document the association between ED and open-angle glaucoma based on a population-based dataset," Dr. Chung and colleagues reported.