Older adults with glaucoma are more likely to experience sleep disturbances than their peers without the disease, according to findings from U.S. and Chinese cohorts. The study also found that poorer sleep quality in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) was associated with more severe structural eye damage and greater depressive symptom burden.
Researchers analyzed data from 3,317 adults aged 60 years and older in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and 200 participants in the Elderly Glaucoma and Sleep Study (EGSS) in China.
In the NHANES cohort, older adults with glaucoma reported more frequent sleep problems than controls, including higher odds of sleep disorders, greater difficulty falling asleep, and longer sleep latency.
In the EGSS cohort, those with POAG demonstrated poorer subjective sleep quality, increased light sleep duration measured by wearable devices, and lower levels of urinary melatonin metabolites compared with controls. No significant sleep-related differences were observed among participants with primary angle-closure glaucoma.
Further analysis in the POAG group showed that worse sleep quality was independently associated with higher depression questionnaire scores and thinner peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, a marker of glaucomatous structural damage.
Reference
Luo Z, Lin Z, Yu Y, et al. Sleep Pattern and Structural Damage in Older Adults with Glaucoma: A United States and China Study. Ophthalmol Sci. 2026;6(7):101237. doi: 10.1016/j.xops.2026.101237. PMID: 42339337; PMCID: PMC13284440.
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