Exploring the Impact of Blood Draws on the Intraocular Pressure of Older Adults: A Focus on Physiological Responses

<b>Background/Objectives</b>: This study investigated intraocular pressure (IOP) changes after a blood draw in older adults considering sex, age, and baseline IOP. <b>Methods</b>: Fifty-three subjects (54.7% females; age: 68.50 ± 4.46 years; Visual Function Index [VF14]: 94.50 ± 7.50 points; mean contrast sensitivity function (CSF) for both eyes in each spatial frequency [cdp]: 1.5 cdp [1.41 ± 0.20 log], 3 cdp [1.57 ± 0.29 log], 6 cdp [1.45 ± 0.39 log], 12 cdp [1.04 ± 0.40 log], 18 cdp [0.63 ± 0.31 log]) voluntarily participated. Subjects fasted for at least 8 h before attending the laboratory. First, IOP was measured in a seated position using a portable rebound tonometer. Ten minutes after the initial measurement, two 10 mL tubes of blood were drawn. Five minutes after the blood draw IOP was measured again following the same procedure as the initial measurement. We evaluated the differences using an analysis of variance. <b>Results</b>: Significant, but not clinically relevant, decreases were found in the right eye, with small effect sizes (<i>p</i> = 0.013-0.079, d = 0.35). Only males and subjects older than 68 years showed trends toward IOP reduction in the right eye. Subjects with baseline IOP ≥ 14 mmHg experienced significant IOP reductions in both eyes, with moderate effect sizes (<i>p</i> = 0.001-0.002, d = 0.56-0.69). <b>Conclusions</b>: Our findings suggest that a blood draw of 20 mL is safe for the IOP levels of older adults with baseline IOP between 11 and 21 mmHg. Variations in IOP were observed based on baseline IOP, sex, and age, suggesting the importance of personalized clinical assessments. The primary factor influencing IOP changes appears to be the baseline IOP level.