Diabetes linked with glaucoma

Women with type 2 diabetes run an increased risk of contracting glaucoma, according to a US study of more than 76,000 participants.

The study, published in the July issue of the journal Ophthalmology, observed 76,318 women between 1980 and 2000. It found a positive link between type 2 diabetes and primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) - the most common form of glaucoma, accounting for 60-70 per cent of cases.

'The study supports the notion that type 2 diabetes is associated with an increased risk of glaucoma,' said Louis Pasquale MD, lead author of the report and co-director of the glaucoma service at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.