A new study involving more than 25,000 people has found that daily marijuana use is associated with 39% lower odds of developing primary open-angle glaucoma.
The study, published November 3 in the Journal of Glaucoma, was conducted by researchers affiliated with the University of California, San Diego and other institutions. Using data from the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program, researchers examined 25,480 participants, including 5,096 patients diagnosed with primary open-angle glaucoma and 20,384 individuals without the condition.
Primary open-angle glaucoma is the most common form of glaucoma, a group of eye diseases that damage the optic nerve and can lead to permanent vision loss. Elevated pressure inside the eye is a major risk factor, and previous research has found that certain cannabinoids, particularly THC, can temporarily reduce intraocular pressure.
Researchers combined electronic health records with survey responses to investigate whether marijuana consumption was associated with the likelihood of having glaucoma. Among the 5,096 participants diagnosed with the disease, 2,063, approximately 40%, reported having used marijuana.
The analysis found that more frequent marijuana use was associated with progressively lower odds of glaucoma. After accounting for other variables through multivariable regression, participants reporting daily marijuana use had 39% lower odds of having the condition compared with those who reported no use.
The association was considered statistically significant. Researchers also identified a significant relationship between marijuana use frequency and glaucoma status across the broader study population, with the association particularly apparent among White participants.
The findings add to a growing body of research examining marijuana’s potential applications in eye health. Unlike smaller clinical studies that have investigated the immediate effects of THC on intraocular pressure, the new analysis examined the relationship between marijuana consumption and glaucoma diagnoses across a large, racially and ethnically diverse population.
The researchers described their findings as an inverse dose-response association, meaning that greater marijuana consumption frequency was linked to lower odds of having glaucoma. However, because the analysis relied on observational data, it cannot establish that marijuana directly prevents the disease.
The research team concluded that marijuana and its individual components warrant further investigation as potential treatments for primary open-angle glaucoma. They specifically called for prospective studies to determine whether the relationship observed in the data reflects a causal effect.
The study, titled The Association Between Marijuana Use and Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Using the All of Us Research Program: A Case-Control Study, was published online ahead of print.
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