Association Between Alcohol Use Disorder and Glaucoma: Evidence from the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program

Alcohol use disorder (AUD), defined by compulsive alcohol consumption despite harmful consequences, affected an estimated 28.1 million U.S. adults in 2023. Beyond well-known systemic effects, growing evidence suggests that alcohol may negatively influence eye health potentially contributing to the development of glaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. This retrospective cohort study evaluated the association between AUD and glaucoma in a large, diverse population using data from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) All of Us Research Program. Multivariable logistic regression, adjusting for sociodemographic confounders, was applied to assess glaucoma diagnoses among participants with and without AUD. Adults (n = 122,706) with a mean age of 56.7 years (SD = 16.8) and 66% female were assessed. Individuals with AUD had significantly higher odds of a glaucoma diagnosis compared with those without AUD (odds ratio: 1.45; 95% confidence interval: 1.35–1.57; p < 0.001). These findings suggest that AUD may be an underrecognized risk factor for glaucoma and that preventative care for eye health may be warranted in this population. Additional screening in higher-risk individuals may improve long-term quality of life and reduce the broader public health burden of glaucoma.