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New research · Ophthalmology
Canadian journal of ophthalmology. Journal canadien d'ophtalmologie · 4d
Meta-analysisCanadian journal of ophthalmology. Journal canadien d'ophtalmologie · 2026

Glaucoma and cognition: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cognitive metrics in glaucoma patients.

Jacob Stasso, Xioale Li, Olivia Novosel … David Mathew
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OphthalmologyMeta-analysis

Glaucoma patients score lower on the Mini-Mental State Examination cognitive test.

Glaucoma and cognition: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cognitive metrics in glaucoma patients.

Jacob Stasso … David Mathew
Canadian journal of ophthalmology. Journal canadien d'ophtalmologie · 2026
Purpose

To evaluate whether glaucoma is associated with reduced performance on standardized cognitive assessments and to characterize the affected cognitive domains.

Methods

A systematic review was conducted using MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, and Web of Science from inception to March 2026.

n = 16
Results

glaucoma patients tended to score lower on memory and thinking tests

MD -2.85 (95% CI -3.36 to -2.34)
null 0
-3.36
-2.34
CI excludes the null - significant
More results

Exploratory study stratification suggested greater Mini-Mental State Examination reductions in developing countries (MD: -3.79; p < .001) than in developed countries (MD: -0.74; p > .05).

Despite lower Mini-Mental State Examination performance, scores remained above commonly used thresholds for CI.

More results

Narrative synthesis found that MoCA-based studies demonstrated inconsistent findings without a clear difference between glaucoma and comparator groups.

Among domain-specific areas, deficits in verbal fluency, visuospatial skills, and memory were suggested.

“
Conclusion · 1 of 2

Current evidence suggests a hypothesis-generating association that glaucoma may reduce performance on cognitive assessments.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

However, interpretation is limited by substantial heterogeneity and the visual dependence of cognitive assessments, highlighting the need for standardized, longitudinal studies to better define the scope and mechanisms of this relationship.

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