Hypertension Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Hypertension, including details on symptoms, diagnosis, diet, treatment, causes.

Hypermetropia is not associated with hypertension: the Blue Mountains Eye Study.

Liew G, Mitchell P, Wong TY, Wang JJ

Centre for Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology, Westmead Hospital, The Westmead Millennium Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

PURPOSE: An association between hypermetropia and hypertension was recently reported. We sought to verify this finding in the Blue Mountains Eye Study cohort (n = 3654; ages 49 to 97 years). DESIGN: Cohort study. METHODS: We defined hypermetropia as mean spheric equivalent refraction (SER) > 1.00 diopter, myopia as mean SER < -1.00 diopters, and emmetropia as mean SER < or = 1.00 diopters and > or = -1.00 diopters, inclusive. We used the 2003 World Health Organization/International Society of Hypertension guidelines to define severe hypertension as grade 2 or higher. RESULTS: Of 1290 people who were at risk of the development of hypertension, 378 people developed incident severe hypertension after five years. The multivariate-adjusted relative risk of incident hypertension in persons with hypermetropia compared with those with emmetropia was 1.06 (95% CI, 0.89 to 1.26); the relative risk in persons with myopia was 1.22 (95% CI, 0.96 to 1.56). CONCLUSION: Neither hypermetropia nor myopia was associated with incident hypertension in this older population.

Published 27 March 2006 in Am J Ophthalmol, 141(4): 746-8.
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