Does Helicobacter pylori Eradication Reduce the Risk of Open Angle Glaucoma in Patients With Peptic Ulcer Disease?

To investigate whether Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) eradication would influence the risk of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) in patients with peptic ulcer disease. From the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000, 6061 patients with peptic ulcer and receiving H pylori eradication therapy were recruited. The study cohort was subdivided into early (within 1 year) and late (after 1 year) eradication cohorts. The 24,244 control cohort subjects were those who without peptic ulcer and without receiving H pylori eradication therapy and were frequency-matched with the H pylori eradication cohort by age, sex, and the year of receiving H pylori eradication therapy. The higher incidence of POAG was observed in late H pylori eradication cohort and in early H pylori eradication cohort than in control cohort (1.57, 1.32, and 0.95, per 1000 person-year, respectively). However, overall risk of glaucoma was not significantly higher in the late eradication than in the early eradication (adjusted hazard ratio = 0.85, 95% confidence interval = 0.48–1.53). The POAG incidence was greater in the late H pylori eradication cohort when follow-up duration ≤5 years (1.59, per 1000 person-years). However, when follow-up duration >5 years, the incidence of POAG was greater in the early H pylori eradication cohort (1.68, per 1000 person-years). These relationships were not associated with a significantly increased or decreased risk of POAG in multivariable analyses. Either early or late H pylori eradication does not significantly reduce the risk of glaucoma in patients with peptic ulcer disease compared with normal control.