UCSD - University of California - San Diego

10/07/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/07/2026 09:02

Statins May Protect People from Developing Glaucoma

Published Date

October 07, 2026

Article Content

Key Takeaways

  • Glaucoma is caused by permanent damage to the optic nerve and is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness.
  • Research from UC San Diego has found that statin use was associated with a lower risk of developing open-angle glaucoma and with less treatment escalation once glaucoma was present.
  • In a study of more than 210,000 people with a record of statin use compared with 210,000 non-users, statin use was associated with a 15% lower risk of developing open-angle glaucoma.

New research from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine has found that taking statins may be linked to a lower risk of developing glaucoma and a reduced chance of it getting worse. The study found that people with existing glaucoma who are taking statins appear less likely to need stronger treatments like extra eye drops or surgery to keep it under control. The findings are published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

"Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness, and statins are among the most common medications used to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease," said senior study author Robert Weinreb, MD, Distinguished Professor in the Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology at UC San Diego School of Medicine and ophthalmologist at UC San Diego Health. Weinreb is also director of the Hamilton Glaucoma Center and the Gleiberman Center for Glaucoma Research at the Shiley Eye Institute.

"If this association is confirmed in future studies, it could have implications for a very large number of people."

Glaucoma is caused by permanent damage to the optic nerve and is typically treated with prescription eye drops, oral medications, laser treatment or a combination of these approaches. Statins are commonly prescribed to lower cholesterol levels, but studies have indicated that they may also prevent or slow nerve cell death. However, their potential role in preventing or slowing glaucoma is poorly understood.

To strengthen the evidence base addressing this gap in knowledge, researchers searched a database covering 165 million individuals across the world.

They compared more than 210,000 people who had a record of statin use between August 2006 and August 2026 with a matched control group of 210,000 people who had no record of using statins. Individuals in both groups had to have a recorded ophthalmological follow-up.

Statin use was associated with a 15% lower risk of developing open-angle glaucoma, the researchers found.

At five years, there were 4,771 new diagnoses of glaucoma in the statin group (2.3%) and 5,491 in the control group (2.6%).

In a separate analysis, more than 30,000 individuals with glaucoma who were taking statins were compared with almost 250,000 individuals with glaucoma who were not taking statins.

Statins were linked to a lower risk of progressing to need glaucoma surgery or other treatment.

At five years, statin use was associated with a 36% lower risk of incisional glaucoma surgery and a 55% reduced risk of minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) - a keyhole procedure to lower the intraocular pressure in the eye.

"Statins are known to have pleiotropic effects beyond cholesterol lowering, including anti-inflammatory and potential neuroprotective properties. This study suggests those effects could be relevant to optic nerve health, and future studies will be able to tell us if this is a causal, clinically actionable relationship." - Robert Weinreb

Statins were also associated with a 60% lower risk of selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) - a procedure that lowers the pressure in the eye by using laser pulses. There was also a 12% reduced risk of eye drops to reduce the pressure in the eye linked to statin use.

After 10 years, statin use continued to be associated with a lower risk of incisional glaucoma surgery, MIGS, SLT, and use of eye drops, the researchers found.

The researchers caution that this is an observational study and as such, no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect. Another limitation of the study is that the researchers did not have access to individual patient data, including intraocular pressure measurements or surgical details. This means they were unable to determine whether surgery was performed due to increased disease severity or because the patient was not adhering to treatment.

Nevertheless, they say their findings add to the growing literature about the neuroprotective effect of statins. Prospective randomized trials are now needed to better understand the effects of statin use on glaucoma incidence and treatment.

"Statins are known to have pleiotropic effects beyond cholesterol lowering, including anti-inflammatory and potential neuroprotective properties," said Weinreb. "This study suggests those effects could be relevant to optic nerve health, and future studies will be able to tell us if this is a causal, clinically actionable relationship."

This story was adapted from a press release issued by the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Read the full study: "Statin Use is Associated with Lower Risk of Open-Angle Glaucoma Incidence and Treatment Escalation"

Additional coauthors of the study include Forest Lin at the University of South Florida and Alexander T Hong at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

The research was funded, in part, by Research to Prevent Blindness.

Disclosures: The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Read more news about: School of Medicine, Health Sciences, UC San Diego Health

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