Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Aug 07, 2026 1 day, 2 hours, 1 minute ago
Medicines widely used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension may carry a small but important long-term risk for eye health, according to new research. While the study did not prove these drugs directly cause glaucoma, it suggests that people taking them for many years should consider regular eye examinations.
Long-term use of popular PDE5 inhibitors may be linked to a small increase in glaucoma risk, prompting calls for regular
eye screening.
The research was conducted by scientists from Shinawatra University, Bangkok, Thailand, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
Large Analysis Examined Nearly 200,000 People
The researchers reviewed findings from 10 observational studies involving approximately 200,000 participants. They combined a systematic review, meta-analysis, Markov computer modeling, and logistic regression to estimate the long-term effects of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitors, including sildenafil and tadalafil, on glaucoma risk.
The overall analysis found that users of these medications had a 35% higher estimated risk of glaucoma, but the increase was not statistically significant, meaning the available evidence could not confirm a direct causal relationship. Even so, computer modeling suggested that long-term users could experience a gradual increase in risk over time.
Modeling Revealed a Small but Persistent Increase
This
Thailand Medical News report highlights one of the study's most important findings. The researchers estimated that over a 10-year period, glaucoma developed in about 2.96% of people who did not use PDE5 inhibitors compared with 4.41% of long-term users, representing an absolute increase of roughly 1.4 percentage points.
The regression analysis also showed that several factors contributed to glaucoma risk. Increasing age remained one of the strongest predictors, while diabetes and hypertension also increased the likelihood of developing the disease. Long-term PDE5 inhibitor use was independently associated with higher glaucoma risk in the statistical model.
Interestingly, the simulations suggested that people who stopped taking the medications after five years experienced a gradual reduction in their projected risk, indicating that prolonged exposure may play an important role.
More Research Still Needed
The researchers emphasized that current evidence remains inconsistent because many previous studies were observational, making it difficult to separate the effects of the medication from other health conditions common among users. They also noted that glaucoma develops slowly, meaning longer and better-designed clinical studies are needed before definitive conclusions can be made.
Conclusion
Although the study does not establish that PDE5 inhibitors directly cause glaucoma, it raises enough concern to justify closer mo
nitoring of long-term users, particularly older adults and those with diabetes, hypertension, or a family history of glaucoma. Regular eye examinations may help detect early changes while future prospective studies determine whether the observed association reflects a true biological effect or is influenced by other underlying health factors.
The study findings were presented at the Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Biomedical and Intelligent Systems (IC-BIS 2025).
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3745034.3745126
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https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/glaucoma-news 
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