Myopia May Necessitate Filtering Surgeries Later in Life, Large Study Finds

Individuals with myopia—particularly high myopia—show a significantly increased risk of developing glaucoma and requiring glaucoma surgery, according to a large population-based cohort study. Photo: Justin Schweitzer, OD. Click image to enlarge. At varying levels of severity, myopia increases the risk of developing glaucoma later in life and with that comes a greater chance of needing glaucoma surgery. A study done in Kyoto, Japan, reports that patients are at risk “especially for invasive filtering surgeries” rather than nonfiltering surgeries.Researchers followed the data of 14,204,347 phakic patients—7,478,999 with myopia—for eight years through a Japanese claims database, classifying them into three groups: non-myopia, myopia and high myopia. The high myopia group constituted a smaller subset of the overall myopia subject population (373,232 individuals).Examining patient data, they found that myopia overall was associated with a 44% higher risk of developing glaucoma, and high myopes experienced a 167% greater risk. Additionally, the myopia group presented a 71% higher necessity of glaucoma surgery and the high myopia group with 207%. Patients with a history of cataract surgery, lens-related diseases and ophthalmic refraction testing were excluded to ensure the accuracy of the findings.The study’s cohort comprised over 60% female patients. Average age was 56.8 years for myopes, 52.9 for high myopes and 68.8 for non-myopic subjects. Patients selected for the study had not already been diagnosed with glaucoma. While the researchers accounted for common myopia comorbidities, they wrote that “conditions including diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia were more prevalent in individuals without myopia” than those with it—a strong indicator that even with otherwise good health, myopia does increase glaucoma risk.Myopia’s commonality among populations worldwide, as well as the relative simplicity of diagnosis and management, can belie the serious ocular health risk it poses. In their study, the researchers concluded with “the importance of vigilant monitoring and comprehensive eye care for individuals with myopia to mitigate the risk of glaucoma and preserve vision,” particularly with “focus on elucidating the mechanism underlying this association” between myopia and glaucoma.Click here for the journal source. Quiroz-Reyes MA, Quiroz-Gonzalez EA, Quiroz-Gonzalez MA, et al. Comprehensive assessment of glaucoma in patients with high myopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis with a discussion of structural and functional imaging modalities. Int Ophthalmol. January 5, 2026. [Epub ahead of print]. This article was developed by the editorial staff in conjunction with experts in the field. In the process, AI may have been among the editorial tools used to meet the goals of human editors, who approved all content.