Joint research by Professor Kim Young Guk at Seoul National University Hospital
Suggests the need for lifestyle improvements to reduce or quit alcohol consumption
It has been found that abstaining from alcohol is beneficial for the eye health of glaucoma patients.
Domestic research has shown that glaucoma patients can reduce their risk of blindness by about 37% if they quit drinking.
Reference photo to help understand the article / Guitarfoto-shutterstock.com
According to a report by Yonhap News, a joint research team from Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, and Jeju National University Hospital recently confirmed this.
The research team analyzed the changes in drinking habits and blindness risk of 13,643 patients diagnosed with glaucoma from 2010 to 2011 based on data from the National Health Insurance Service until 2020.
To understand the impact of changes in drinking habits on glaucoma, the research team divided the 13,643 diagnosed patients into 10,777 who continued drinking and 2,866 who abstained from alcohol.
The analysis found that patients who abstained from alcohol had a 37% lower risk of blindness than those who continued drinking after being diagnosed with glaucoma.
The frequency of drinking also affected the risk of blindness.
Compared to those who abstained from alcohol, the research team found that high-frequency drinkers who drank four or more times a week had a 2.5 times higher risk of blindness.
Concerning the research results, Professor Kim Young-guk emphasized, “Glaucoma patients need to improve their lifestyle habits by reducing or quitting alcohol.”
He further stated, “These research results prove that correcting lifestyle habits is effective in overcoming chronic diseases.”
Glaucoma is a progressive optic nerve disease where the field of vision gradually narrows due to damage to the optic nerve from excessively high intraocular pressure. It is one of the leading causes of blindness. There is no cure for glaucoma, and the progression is slowed down with medication that lowers intraocular pressure.
The research results were published in a recent issue of JAMA Network Open, a journal published by the American Medical Association.
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