Evaluation of Antioxidants, and Haematological Indices in Glaucoma Patients: A Case Study of Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Introduction: Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative eye condition and is characterized by raised intraocular pressure. When left untreated, patients may gradually experience visual field loss, and even lose their sight completely. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate plasma enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants levels and haematological parameters in glaucoma patients in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used in this investigation to examine the relationship between variables, and a total of 80 subjects comprising; 50 glaucoma patients and 30 apparently healthy control subjects selected for the study. Following standard operating protocols, five milliliters of venous blood were aseptically drawn from each patient via the cubital fossa region and dispensed in ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid and plain sample containers. The blood sample was used for determination of antioxidants: uric acid, albumin, bilirubin, Superoxide dismutase, catalase, and malondialdehyde using spectrophotometric techniques, and haematological parameters: packed cell volume, haemoglobin, total white blood cell count, neutrophil, lymphocytes, eosinophils, basophils, monocytes, and platelet count were measured using the Sysmex automated haematological analyzer. Statistical analysis was done using Special Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 and p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The serum concentration of non-enzymatic antioxidants (uric acid, albumin, total bilirubin and conjugated bilirubin) levels in the glaucoma patients were significantly (p<0.05) lower than the non-glaucomatous subjects. Serum superoxide dismutase, catalase and malondialdehyde levels showed no significant difference when compared with the control subjects. Packed cell volume, haemoglobin, total white blood cell count, and platelets showed no significant (p>0.05) difference in the glaucoma patients compared to the control subjects. However, a statistically significant decrease in eosinophil count (p<0.05) was observed in glaucoma patients compared to control subjects which indicated a significant association between glaucoma and eosinopenia. Conclusion: This finding suggests that the reduced uric acid, albumin, total bilirubin, conjugated bilirubin and eosinophil levels may be a potential risk for glaucoma.