Hypermetropia is not associated with hypertension: The Blue Mountains Eye Study

Abstract

PURPOSE: An association between hypermetropia and hypertension was recently reported. We sought to verify this finding in the Blue Mountains Eye Study cohort (n = 3654; ages 49 to 97 years). DESIGN: Cohort study. METHODS: We defined hypermetropia as mean spheric equivalent refraction (SER) >1.00 diopter, myopia as mean SER <-1.00 diopters, and emmetropia as mean SER ≤1.00 diopters and <-1.00 diopters, inclusive. We used the 2003 World Health Organization/International Society of Hypertension guidelines to define severe hypertension as grade 2 or higher. RESULTS: Of 1290 people who were at risk of the development of hypertension, 378 people developed incident severe hypertension after five years. The multivariate-adjusted relative risk of incident hypertension in persons with hypermetropia compared with those with emmetropia was 1.06 (95% CI, 0.89 to 1.26); the relative risk in persons with myopia was 1.22 (95% CI, 0.96 to 1.56). CONCLUSION: Neither hypermetropia nor myopia was associated with incident hypertension in this older population. © 2006 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.