Abstract

Background: To evaluate the effect of oral statins on the rate of Humphrey visual field progression in patients with open angle glaucoma (OAG).

Methods: Patients with primary open angle glaucoma and normal tension glaucoma who had been regularly followed-up in our glaucoma clinic were reviewed for demographic records, statin use history, comorbid medical conditions, and visual field tests. The rate of visual field progression was compared
between statin users and nonusers using pointwise liner regression. To further analyze visual field change, we divided Humphrey visual field into twelve subfields and compared the rate of progression accordingly.

Results: Sixty-one OAG statin-users and 65 agematched nonusers were enrolled in the study. The mean follow-up period was 9.0 years. The average rate of global visual field progression between the two groups was similar (-0.28 dB/year in statin group and -0.29 dB/year in non-statin group, p = 0.856). However, in subfield analysis, statin users had slower rate of progression in the superior-nasal area (zone 3) than in nonusers (-0.07 dB/year vs. -0.28 dB/year, p = 0.019).

Conclusion: The global rate of visual field progressionwas similar in statin users and nonusers. However, subfield analysis showed that the superior-nasal visual field declined slower in glaucoma patients who received oral statins.