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Elevated HDL Cholesterol Linked to Increased Risk for Glaucoma

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Feb 5, 2025.

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 5, 2025 -- Elevated high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is associated with an increased risk for glaucoma, while elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), and triglycerides (TG) are associated with a reduced risk, according to a study published online Feb. 4 in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Yiyuan Ma, from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study involving 400,229 participants from the U.K. Biobank to examine the associations of HDL-C, LDL-C, TC, and TG with glaucoma.

The researchers found that 1.72 percent of the participants developed glaucoma during a mean follow-up of 14.44 years. Higher levels of HDL-C were associated with increased glaucoma risk (hazard ratio, 1.05 [95 percent confidence interval, 1.02 to 1.08; P = 0.001] for one standard deviation increase in HDL-C) in multivariate Cox regression, while reduced risk was seen in association with elevated levels of LDL-C, TC, and TG (hazard ratios [95 percent confidence intervals], 0.96 [0.94 to 0.99; P = 0.005], 0.97 [0.94 to 1.00; P = 0.037], and 0.96 [0.94 to 0.99; P = 0.008], respectively). An analysis of associations between the polygenic risk score of serum lipids and glaucoma showed an increased hazard ratio in association with a one-standard deviation increment of HDL-C genetic risk (hazard ratio, 1.05; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.00 to 1.11; P = 0.031). There were no significant associations seen for the polygenic risk scores of LDL-C, TC, and TG with glaucoma.

"HDL cholesterol has been regarded as the 'good cholesterol' for seven decades," the authors write. "However, this study demonstrates that high levels of HDL cholesterol are not consistently associated with a favorable prognostic outcome."

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted February 2025

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