Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between factors associated with parturition and open-angle glaucoma (OAG) in Korean females.
Methods: A population-based, cross-sectional survey was performed from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2010 to 2011 and enrolled postmenopausal female participants (n=1798). We obtained information on demographics, comorbidities, and health-related behaviors and performed comprehensive ophthalmic examinations. Multivariate regression analysis was used to assess the correlation between pregnancy and delivery and the prevalence of OAG in all enrolled subjects.
Results: The prevalence of OAG among study participants was 6.42%. There was a significant difference in the number of deliveries and age at first delivery between the OAG group and the nonglaucoma group. In multiple linear regression models adjusted for age, hypertension, and intraocular pressure only pregnancy 1 was associated with higher risk of OAG compared with pregnancy 2 (P=0.023). Subjects who had 3 or 4 deliveries were at higher risk of OAG compared with subjects with 2 deliveries (P=0.027). An age at first delivery of 16 to 20 years or 21 to 23 years was associated with increased OAG risk compared with the reference group (P<0.05).
Conclusions: A history of three or more deliveries and an age at first delivery younger than 23 years were associated with increased risk of OAG. These results suggest that changes or events during the period from pregnancy to delivery affect the development of glaucoma.