Abstract
AIM: To explore the relationship between plasma myeloperoxidase (MPO) and glaucoma, assessing the clinical utility of MPO in glaucoma. METHODS: A cross-sectional study involved 127 glaucoma patients and 106 healthy controls. Plasma MPO markers were quantified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), comparing levels between glaucoma patients and healthy controls, and analyzing plasma MPO across different glaucoma severity grades. RESULTS: In this study, we observed elevated plasma MPO levels in glaucoma patients (p < 0.001). After correcting for confounders such as age, sex, hypertension, and diabetes, plasma MPO remained independently associated with glaucoma (OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.04-1.07, p < 0.001). Plasma MPO may reflect the severity of glaucoma, with significant differences in plasma MPO observed between early and severe stages, but not in the moderate stages. In addition, elevated plasma MPO was associated with higher cup-to-disc ratios. ROC curve analysis demonstrated the validity of glaucoma markers in identifying early glaucoma from severe glaucoma (early versus severe: AUC = 0.633). CONCLUSION: Elevated plasma MPO levels are independently associated with glaucoma risk, suggesting it might provide insight into disease pathogenesis.