Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
Caffeine intake – how much is too much when it comes to glaucoma risk?
Many people cannot imagine a day without caffeine-based drinks – coffee drives our morning commutes and facilitates our social events. But what is the relationship between those extra cups of java and eye health? An international group of researchers has established that – where there is a strong genetic predisposition to elevated IOP – high caffeine consumption increases pressure and heightens the risk of glaucoma three-fold. However, in people without a strong predisposition to increased IOP, high caffeine intake is loosely associated with lower IOP and doesn’t contribute to glaucoma prevalence. The data used was compiled through the UK Biobank and enabled a huge sample size, but more research is needed to fully confirm the gene-diet interactions found in this study.
- K Jihye et al., Ophthalmology, 128, 866 (2021). PMID: 33333105.
The lion’s share of my PhD was spent in the lab, and though I mostly enjoyed it (mostly), what I particularly liked was the opportunity to learn about the latest breakthroughs in research. Communicating science to a wider audience allows me to scratch that itch without working all week only to find my stem cell culture has given up the ghost on the Friday (I’m not bitter). Fortunately for me, it turns out writing is actually fun – so by working for Texere I get to do it every day, whilst still being an active member of the clinical and research community.
