Increased risk of glaucoma amongst new-onset gout patients aged 20-39 years

Objectives: To provide epidemiologic evidence of whether gout increases the risk of new-onset glaucoma. Methods: We conducted a 13-year nationwide, population-based, retrospective cohort study to examine the association between the history of gout and risk of glaucoma by using the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database (LHID) of Taiwan. The gout cohort included 52 943 patients with newly diagnosed gout who were recruited between 2000 and 2012. Each patient was propensity score matching with 1:1 person without gout from the LHID. To determine glaucoma occurrence, the study population was followed up until the end of 2013. Cumulative incidence, hazard ratios (HRs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated after adjusting for age, sex, comorbidities, and ever ophthalmic visit. A Cox proportional hazard model was used to analyse the association between gout and incidence of glaucoma amongst patients with different potential risks. Results: The adjusted HR for newly diagnosed glaucoma in the gout cohort was 1.00 (95% CI = 0.93-1.07, P =.931), compared with the non-gout cohort. Stratified subgroup analysis revealed that the HRs of glaucoma were 1.36 (95% CI = 1.09-1.70, P =.007), 0.99 (95% CI = 0.87-1.12, P =.871), and 0.95 (95% CI = 0.87-1.03, P =.235) in patients with gout aged 20-39, 40-54, and ≥55 years, respectively (P for interaction =.011). Conclusion: This nationwide population-based cohort study revealed that gout patients in the age group 20-39 years had a higher risk of glaucoma than non-gout controls.