High cholesterol is associated with an increased risk of developing glaucoma, but a study suggests taking statins to lower cholesterol helps to reduce this risk. The study focused on the most common form of the disease, known as open-angle glaucoma, which starts with gradual loss of peripheral vision. Researchers followed more than 136,000 healthy adults for over a decade, starting when they were 40 and had no signs of glaucoma. By the end of the study, 886 glaucoma cases were diagnosed. People with any history of high cholesterol were 17 percent more likely to develop glaucoma, researchers report in JAMA Ophthalmology. And every 20 milligrams per deciliter of blood increase in total cholesterol was tied to a 7 percent increase in glaucoma risk. In contrast, any statin use was associated with a 15 percent lower risk of glaucoma overall, the study found. People who took statins for five or more years were 21 percent less likely to develop glaucoma than those who had never used the drugs. Click here to read the full story from The Washington Post.