Relationship of Incident Glaucoma versus Physical Activity and Fitness in Male Runners

Abstract

Purpose To assess the dose–response relationship of vigorous physical activity (running distance, km/d) or cardiorespiratory fitness (meters-per-second pace during a 10-km footrace) to the risk for incident glaucoma. Design Prospective epidemiologic cohort study. Methods Participant-reported, physician-diagnosed incident glaucoma was compared with distance run per week and 10-km footrace performance in a cohort of 29,854 male runners without diabetes followed prospectively for 7.7 yr. The survival analyses were adjusted for age, hypertension, current and past cigarette use, and intakes of meat, fish, fruit, and alcohol. Results Two hundred incident glaucoma cases were reported during follow-up. The risk for reported glaucoma decreased 37% per meter-per-second increment in a 10-km race performance (P = 0.005). Relative to the least fit men (i.e., slowest, ≤ 3.5 m/s), the risk for incident-reported glaucoma declined 29% in those who ran 3.6–4.0 m/s (P = 0.06), 54% for those who ran 4.1–4.5 m/s (P = 0.001), 51% for those who ran 4.6–5.0 m/s (P = 0.04), and glaucoma was nonexistent among the 781 men who exceeded 5.0 m/s (P = 0.03). The risk for incident, reported glaucoma decreased 5% per kilometer-per-day run at baseline (P = 0.04), which remained significant when adjusted for the 10-km race performance (5% reduction per kilometer-per-day, P = 0.04), and both body mass index and race performance (P = 0.04). Baseline hypertension was unrelated to the incident glaucoma. Conclusions These data provide preliminary evidence that vigorous physical activity may reduce glaucoma risk, which, in the absence of medical record validation, could represent ocular hypertension in addition to frank glaucoma. Additional follow-up with validation is needed to identify the type of glaucoma affected.

Mechanisms of Retinal Ganglion Cell Injury in Aging and Glaucoma

“…Physical activity is a potent stimulator of mitochondrial biogenesis in muscle, heart and brain, which leads to enhanced oxidative phosphorylation activity and a corresponding increase in oxygen consumption and ATP synthesis [57][58][59] . Although the modulating effects of ex ercise on retinal mitochondria are yet to be shown, preliminary evidence suggests that vigorous physical activity may reduce glaucoma risk [60] . Mitochondriontargeted therapies for protecting retinal ganglion cells from injury represent an exciting avenue of future research.…”

A comparison of the intraocular pressure response between two different intensities and volumes of resistance training

“…However, there is strong evidence that certain physical activity conditions, when performed regularly over the years, can reduce IOP (25) .…”

Online Informative and Educational Resources on the Benefits That a Lifestyle Aimed at the Primary Prevention of Cancer May Also Provide for General Health

“…A R reduction of 54% or more for glaucoma has been observed in very active athletes. High intraocular pressure, an important R factor for glaucoma, is decreased through aerobic exercise proportionally to its duration and intensity; running as well as heavy work that requires exertion are beneficial in this regard [45].…”