Uric acid and glaucoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Mohammad Mohammadi; Adeleh Yarmohammadi; Amin Salehi-Abargouei; Hamidreza Ghasemirad; Mohammad Shirvani; Hamed Ghoshouni

doi:10.3389/fmed.2023.1159316

Uric acid and glaucoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Front Med (Lausanne). 2023 Jul 28:10:1159316. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1159316. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Mohammad Mohammadi^{1

2}, Adeleh Yarmohammadi³, Amin Salehi-Abargouei^{4

5

6}, Hamidreza Ghasemirad¹, Mohammad Shirvani^{7

8}, Hamed Ghoshouni¹

Affiliations

¹ Students' Research and Technology Committee, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
² NeuroTRACT Association, Student's Scientific Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
³ Assil Gaur Eye Institute, Beverley Hills, CA, United States.
⁴ Research Center for Food Hygiene and Safety, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
⁵ Yazd Cardiovascular Research Center, Non-communicable Diseases Research Institute, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
⁶ Department of Nutrition, School of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
⁷ Geriatric Ophthalmology Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Science, Yazd, Iran.
⁸ Poostchi Ophthalmology Research Center, Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.

Abstract

Background: Glaucoma, the leading cause of irreversible blindness, is a common disorder that contributes to gradual optic nerve degeneration. The beneficial impacts of uric acid (UA) have been reported in some neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. But the results of current studies about the association between serum UA level and glaucoma are conflicting. The present meta-analysis was conducted to provide a better understanding of the association between serum UA level and glaucoma.

Methods: We searched the databases of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar systematically until November 20, 2022 to identify case-control studies, comparing the serum UA concentrations of the patients with glaucoma and controls. The mean ± standard division difference was used to assess the difference in serum UA concentrations between the glaucoma patients and controls.

Results: Six studies involving 1,221 glaucoma patients and 1,342 control group were included in the present meta-analysis. This meta-analysis using a random effect model indicated that the mean UA level in glaucoma patients was 0.13 (I² = 91.92%, 95% CI = -0.42 to 0.68) higher than the controls; however, it was not statistically significant.

Conclusions: Our findings provide evidence that glaucoma patients have a higher serum UA level compared to the controls, but this difference is not statistically significant. Prospective studies are needed to determine the possible association between increased UA and glaucoma pathogenesis.

Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022364055, identifier: CRD42022364055.

Keywords: glaucoma; intraocular pressure; meta-analysis; oxidative stress; systematic review; uric acid.

Publication types

Systematic Review