The association between intraocular pressure and different combination of metabolic syndrome components

BACKGROUND Although the association between metabolic syndrome and intraocular pressure is well known, the relationship between the intraocular pressure and different combination of the components of metabolic syndrome has not been actively researched yet. The study aimed to investigate the relationship between the intraocular pressure and metabolic syndrome components with their different combinations. METHODS Thirty-one thousand two hundred seventy one healthy people aged 19-79 who attended a community hospital for a health check-up between January 2011 and December 2013 were enrolled in the study. Subjects with a history of intraocular disease, at least in one eye and those receiving medical treatment for glaucoma were excluded. Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed following the criteria defined in Circulation 2009. RESULTS Subjects with combination of three metabolic syndrome components of triglycerides, abdominal obesity, and fasting glucose had the highest intraocular pressure. And subjects with the combination of four components of blood pressure, high-density lipoproteins, triglycerides, fasting glucose had a significantly higher intraocular pressure than ones with the combination of all five metabolic syndrome components. CONCLUSIONS The difference in the risk of high intraocular pressure according to the different combination of the metabolic syndrome components could be confirmed. If additional follow-up studies are conducted, the findings can be used as an indicator for predicting intraocular pressure increases in patients with metabolic syndrome.