■ A systematic review and meta-analysis of evidence linking alcohol use with increased IOP and open-angle glaucoma (OAG) suggest a small but positive association. Reporting in Ophthalmology, the authors wrote the finding should be interpreted with caution, due to the “methodological heterogeneity and risk of bias in the evidence, the small absolute effect size, and borderline statistical significance.”

Kelsey V. Stuart, MBBCh, MSc, and colleagues found 10 studies suggesting that habitual alcohol use is associated with higher IOP and ocular hypertension (IOP >21 mmHg), although the absolute effect sizes were small. Pooled effect estimates from 11 studies of any alcohol use and OAG was positive (1.18; 95% CI, 1.02-1.36; P=.03; I2=40.5%).

“Further study is needed ... but alcohol consumption should be considered a potential modifiable risk factor for the development of glaucoma,” the investigators wrote. “Research is needed to better define the dose-dependent associations of alcohol and gene–alcohol interactions.”