Coffee Linked to Vision Loss

A new study links java with vision loss, and says that as little as three cups a day could be putting drinkers at risk.

The study, published in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, looked at a total of 121,170 participants.

You can read the original article by Makini Brice on medicaldaily.com.

Researchers were looking for incidences of exfoliation glaucoma. Exfoliation syndrome is the most common cause of secondary glaucoma in the world, especially in people of European descent. In about 10 percent of the population over the age of 50, the eyes become coated with a whitish material that looks like dandruff flakes. These flakes rub off the pigmentation of the iris and are, in turn, rubbed off the lens of the eye.

Glaucoma can, in turn, lead to vision loss or blindness, if left untreated. Glaucoma is manifested by high pressure inside the eye, damage of the optic nerve and vision loss.

Researchers were intrigued by a possible link between glaucoma and coffee because, as Jae Hee Kang says, "Scandinavian populations also have the highest consumption of caffeinated coffee in the world. Women with a family history of glaucoma also had an elevated risk for developing the condition.

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