Association Between Alcohol Use Disorder and Glaucoma: Evidence from the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Population Characteristics
2.2. Identifying Glaucoma and Alcohol Variables
2.3. Covariates
2.4. Description of AoU Data Access
2.5. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Participant Characteristics
3.2. Prevalence of Glaucoma Diagnoses and AUD-Related Diagnoses Across Study Cohort
3.3. Assessing the Association of Glaucoma Diagnosis with AUD-Related Diagnoses
4. Discussion
Limitations of the Study
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Disclaimer
Abbreviations
| AUD | Alcohol Use Disorder |
| AoU | All of Us |
| EHR | Electronic Health Record |
| NIH | National Institutes of Health |
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| Participant Total in Cohort | N = 122,706 | |
|---|---|---|
| Age (mean (SD)) | 56.74 (16.77) | |
| Sex at birth N (%) | Female | 81,045 (66.0%) |
| Male | 41,661 (34.0%) | |
| Race N (%) | Asian | 3645 (3.0%) |
| Black or African American | 11,949 (9.7%) | |
| Middle Eastern or North African | 709 (0.6%) | |
| More than one population | 2285 (1.9%) | |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 82 (0.1%) | |
| None Indicated | 11,887 (9.7%) | |
| White | 89,235 (72.7%) | |
| Missing * | 2914 (2.4%) | |
| Ethnicity N (%) | Hispanic or Latino | 14,498 (11.8%) |
| Not Hispanic or Latino | 105,294 (85.8%) | |
| Missing * | 2914 (2.4%) | |
| BMI kg/m2 (mean (SD)) | 29.61 (7.41) | |
| Glaucoma N (%) | No diagnosis | 112,109 (91.4%) |
| Diagnosis | 10,597 (8.6%) | |
| AUD N (%) | No diagnosis | 115,152 (93.8%) |
| Diagnosis | 7554 (6.2%) | |
| Smoking status N (%) | Never smoker | 10,696 (8.7%) |
| Ex-smoker | 77,284 (63.0%) | |
| Current smoker | 34,726 (28.3%) | |
| Cannabis use N (%) | Never user | 58,712 (47.8%) |
| Ever user | 63,994 (52.2%) | |
| Level | Female | Male | p-Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N (%) | 81,045 (66%) | 41,661 (33.9%) | ||
| Age (mean (SD)) | 54.89 (16.62) | 60.33 (16.46) | <0.001 a | |
| Race N (%) | Asian | 2264 (2.8%) | 1381 (3.3%) | <0.001 b |
| Black or African American | 8756 (10.8%) | 3193 (7.7%) | ||
| Middle Eastern or North African | 406 (0.5%) | 303 (0.7%) | ||
| More than one population | 1612 (2.0%) | 673 (1.6%) | ||
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 52 (0.1%) | 30 (0.1%) | ||
| None Indicated | 8715 (10.8%) | 3172 (7.6%) | ||
| White | 57,414 (70.8%) | 31,821 (76.4%) | ||
| Missing * | 1826 (2.3%) | 1088 (2.6%) | ||
| Ethnicity N (%) | Hispanic or Latino | 10,577 (13.1%) | 3921 (9.4%) | <0.001 b |
| Not Hispanic or Latino | 68,642 (84.7%) | 36,652 (88.0%) | ||
| Missing * | 1826 (2.3%) | 1088 (2.6%) | ||
| BMI (kg/m2) (mean (SD) | 29.73 (7.99) | 29.38 (6.15) | <0.001 a | |
| Glaucoma N (%) | No diagnosis | 74,745 (92.2%) | 37,364 (89.7%) | <0.001 b |
| Diagnosis | 6300 (7.8%) | 4297 (10.3%) | ||
| AUD N (%) | No diagnosis | 77,599 (95.7%) | 37,553 (90.1%) | <0.001 b |
| Diagnosis | 3446 (4.3%) | 4108 (9.9%) | ||
| Smoking status N (%) | Never smoker | 53,510 (66.0%) | 23,774 (57.1%) | <0.001 b |
| Ex-smoker | 20,807 (25.7%) | 13,919 (33.4%) | ||
| Current smoker | 6728 (8.3%) | 3968 (9.5%) | ||
| Cannabis user N (%) | Never user | 40,423 (49.9%) | 18,289 (43.9%) | <0.001 b |
| Ever user | 40,622 (50.1%) | 23,372 (56.1%) | ||
| Term | For Categorical Variables, n for Level Shown (of 117,578 Total) | Odds Ratio | 95% Confidence Interval | p-Value a |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUD diagnosis | 7225 | 1.479 | 1.374–1.591 | <0.001 |
| Age | Continuous | 1.057 | 1.056–1.059 | <0.001 |
| Male sex (Ref = Female) | 40,034 | 1.361 | 1.306–1.418 | <0.001 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | Continuous | 1.000 | 0.998–1.003 | 0.843 |
| Ex-smokers (Ref = Never smokers) | 33,301 | 1.482 | 1.419–1.548 | <0.001 |
| Current smokers (Ref = Never smokers) | 10,241 | 0.934 | 0.863–1.010 | 0.091 |
| Cannabis users (Ref = Never users) | 61,236 | 0.780 | 0.749–0.812 | <0.001 |
| Term | Odds Ratio | 95% Confidence Interval | p-Value a |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUD diagnosis | 1.455 | 1.345–1.572 | <0.001 |
| Age | 1.058 | 1.056–1.060 | <0.001 |
| Male sex (Ref = Female) | 1.030 | 0.986–1.075 | 0.183 |
| BMI (kg/m2) | 1.008 | 1.005–1.011 | <0.001 |
| Ex-smokers (Ref = Never smokers) | 0.985 | 0.939–1.032 | 0.523 |
| Current smokers (Ref = Never smokers) | 1.028 | 0.946–1.116 | 0.515 |
| Cannabis users (Ref = Never users) | 0.945 | 0.905–0.988 | 0.013 |
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Elghazali, F.; Hughes, A.N.; Wallen, G.R.; Burstein, E.; Barb, J.J. Association Between Alcohol Use Disorder and Glaucoma: Evidence from the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22, 1738. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22111738
Elghazali F, Hughes AN, Wallen GR, Burstein E, Barb JJ. Association Between Alcohol Use Disorder and Glaucoma: Evidence from the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2025; 22(11):1738. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22111738
Chicago/Turabian StyleElghazali, Fatima, Alexandria N. Hughes, Gwenyth R. Wallen, Eitan Burstein, and Jennifer J. Barb. 2025. "Association Between Alcohol Use Disorder and Glaucoma: Evidence from the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 22, no. 11: 1738. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22111738
APA StyleElghazali, F., Hughes, A. N., Wallen, G. R., Burstein, E., & Barb, J. J. (2025). Association Between Alcohol Use Disorder and Glaucoma: Evidence from the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(11), 1738. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22111738

