Background
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and glaucoma are major global health challenges. However, the probable association between them is yet to be fully elucidated. This study aimed to investigate the association between OSA and glaucoma.
Methods
Data for this cross-sectional study were obtained from the eighth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2019–2021). From among 9,495 individuals who completed the STOP-Bang questionnaire on OSA (for those aged ≥40 years) and provided their glaucoma prevalence/intraocular pressure (IOP) data, 8,741 were selected for glaucoma prevalence analysis. A total of 754 individuals aged 80 years or older or those with missing confounding variable data were excluded. A separate subgroup of 8,627 individuals was selected for IOP analysis after excluding 114 individuals who use glaucoma eye drops. The study employed linear and logistic regression analyses with Stata/MP ver. 17.0 (Stata Corp., USA) to understand the relationship between the risk of OSA assessed using the STOP-Bang score and key glaucoma indicators, adjusted for confounders. Statistical significance was set at a P-value <0.05.
Results
The average±standard deviation [SD] age of the glaucoma prevalence study group was 56.59±10.48, and 42.98% were male. Notably, every unit increase in the STOP-Bang score was associated with a greater risk of glaucoma (odds ratio, 1.097; P=0.044). In the IOP subgroup, the average±SD age was 56.49±10.45 years, with 42.88% being males. The linear regression showed a statistically significant relationship between the STOP-Bang score and IOP after adjusting for confounding variables (β=0.171, P<0.001).
Conclusion
Our findings revealed a significant positive association between OSA risk, as measured using the STOP-Bang score, and both the likelihood of glaucoma and high IOP.

Citations

• Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Glaucoma
  Vitorino Modesto Dos Santos, Kin Modesto Sugai, Vitor Ruas Domingues Arruda Modesto
  Turkish Journal of Internal Medicine.2026; 8: 1.     CrossRef
• Sleep duration modifies the association between obstructive sleep apnea risk and glaucoma: evidence from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
  Jae Hyeok Kwak, Do Young Park, Jong Chul Han
  Eye and Vision.2025;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Obstructive Sleep Apnea as a Potentiator of Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma and Necessity for Interventional Therapy
  Pranav Vasu, Isabella V. Wagner, Paul Connor Lentz, Priyanka Gumaste, Yazan Abubaker, Bryan C.H. Ang, Abhimanyu S. Ahuja, Emily Dorairaj, Ibrahim Qozat, Darby D. Miller, Syril Dorairaj
  Ophthalmology Glaucoma.2025; 8(6): 553.     CrossRef
• Multimodal Assessment of Ocular Parameters in Patients with Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea with Emphasis on Retinal Structural Changes
  Anita Pusic Sesar, Anja Cehajic, Antonela Geber, Mia Zoric Geber, Ivan Cavar, Antonio Sesar
  Life.2025; 15(8): 1307.     CrossRef
• Reversing Aging and Improving Health Span in Glaucoma Patients: The Next Frontier?
  Shibal Bhartiya, Tanuj Dada, Karthikeyan Mahalingam
  Journal of Current Glaucoma Practice.2024; 18(3): 87.     CrossRef