{"id":620728,"date":"2026-08-04T23:06:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T23:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/620728\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T23:06:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T23:06:29","slug":"erectile-dysfunction-drug-may-raise-glaucoma-risk-researchers-warn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/620728\/","title":{"rendered":"Erectile dysfunction drug may raise glaucoma risk, researchers warn"},"content":{"rendered":"

An erectile dysfunction drug may increase the risk of a common eye condition that can cause blindness.<\/a><\/p>\n

Those taking the drug tadalafil long-term should have their eye health monitored<\/a>, scientists warn.<\/p>\n

Tadalafil, which is also used to tackle the symptoms of an enlarged prostate<\/a>, works by relaxing muscles and increasing blood flow.<\/p>\n

But the medication<\/a> is also associated with causing various eye health<\/a> issues, including conditions affecting the optic nerve and the macula \u2013 the part of the retina responsible for sharp detailed vision.<\/p>\n

Researchers in Taiwan have discovered there is some suggestion the drug can increase the risk of glaucoma<\/a> \u2013 the leading cause of blindness worldwide, which affects more than a million people in the UK.<\/p>\n

Study authors stressed their findings “do not contraindicate tadalafil use” but highlight the importance of monitoring eye health, particularly among people with pre-existing glaucoma or a family history of the condition, as well as patients with high pressure inside the eye.<\/p>\n

\"Researchers<\/p>\n

Researchers warned those taking the drug tadalafil long-term should have their eye health monitored (PA)<\/p>\n

For the study, published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, researchers studied data from 73,854 men aged at least 40 with a history of lower urinary tract symptoms.<\/p>\n

Half had been prescribed tadalafil or another PDE5i for up to five years, and half were on other drugs.<\/p>\n

Men were paired based on lifestyle factors that could influence health, including ethnicity, whether or not they smoked, and other underlying conditions such as diabetes or obesity.<\/p>\n

Researchers analysed how likely both groups were to develop glaucoma and to start treatment after five years.<\/p>\n

The study found that men on tadalafil were 22 per cent more likely to develop glaucoma and were 32 per cent more likely to develop ocular hypertension.<\/p>\n

They were also 33 per cent more likely to develop primary open angle glaucoma \u2013 the most common type.<\/p>\n

Because this was an observational study, no firm conclusions can be drawn from cause and effect, experts warn.<\/p>\n

\"Glaucoma<\/p>\n

Glaucoma is usually detected during routine eye tests<\/p>\n

Symptoms of glaucoma<\/p>\n

Glaucoma typically produces no symptoms, leaving most people unaware that they have the condition, according to the NHS.<\/p>\n

Because it develops gradually over many years, it is usually identified during routine eye tests.<\/p>\n

The condition generally impacts both eyes, though symptoms can be more pronounced in one.<\/p>\n

On occasion, glaucoma can manifest suddenly and present acute symptoms.<\/p>\n

These include severe eye pain, a red eye, tenderness surrounding the eyes, blurred vision, rainbow-coloured circles around bright lights, feeling sick, vomiting, and a headache.<\/p>\n

The NHS<\/a> advises anyone with concerns about their vision to see their GP or an optician.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An erectile dysfunction drug may increase the risk of a common eye condition that can cause blindness. Those…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":620729,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[78],"tags":[262123,18,32966,135,19,17,262124],"class_list":["post-620728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-cause-blindness","tag-eire","tag-glaucoma","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-tadalafil"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117039753165681156","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620728\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/620729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}