Studies on Antioxidants and Malondialdehyde in Glaucoma, Cataract, And Hypertensive Retinopathy Subjects in Imo State

The eye is the essential sense organ for vision function. A saying goes that the eye is the lamp of the body. If the eye is healthy, the whole body will be full of light. This study was aimed at exploring the effect of oxidative stress on eye diseases among adults in Imo State. Five specific objectives, five research questions and four hypotheses guided the study. The study employed descriptive and analytical research designs in the collection of data from 200 subjects including 81(40.5%) males and 119 (59.5%) females ≥45 years. The subjects sampled were 50 with glaucoma, 50 with cataract, 50 with hypertensive retinopathy and 50 in the control group from across three tertiary health facilities in Imo State. Data were analysed using SPSS statistical software version 17.0. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation were used to present results. Data were analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), Least Significant Difference (LSD) post hoc and Pearson’s correlation. Findings revealed that 52.0% of subjects had normal weight, 25.0% were overweight, while 23.0% were obese. Results showed that there was no significant difference in the anthropometric indicators measured among the different eye disease groups when compared to the controls. P- values of 0.793, 0.621 and 0.990 were obtained for BMI, WC and WHR respectively and these three values were less than the significance (p<0.05).Mean values of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, GPX and SOD were significantly lower (p = 0.001) in the Glaucoma group compared to the control subjects. Likewise, when examining Cataract in relation to the Control group, the Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, GPX and SOD were significantly lower (p < 0.05) while diastolic blood pressure was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the cataract group compared to the control group. Furthermore, in the Hypertensive Retinopathy group versus the Control group, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, GPX, SOD were significantly lower and MDA, systolic blood and diastolic blood pressure higher (p < 0.05) in the Hypertensive Retinopathy group compared to the control group. Male subjects with HR had lower vitamin C and higher MDA levels compared to the females (p<0.05), while male subjects with cataract had lower GPX compared to their female counterparts (p<0.05). No significant differences were observed in other indices studied between the males and females (p>0.05).Positive correlations were observed between GPX and vitamin E (r=0.422, p=0.002) in HR. The study concluded that individuals with Glaucoma, Cataract, and Hypertensive Retinopathy had lower levels of antioxidant enzymes and vitamins (Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, GPX and SOD). The hypertension associated with hypertensive retinopathy seemed to exacerbate lipid peroxidation and antioxidant depletion. Arterial hypertension occurred with changes in retinal morphology and increased oxidative stress and inflammation in ocular tissues. Antioxidant supplementation may be vital in ameliorating the development and progression of eye diseases.