By April Chong

PEOPLE with poor circulation in their legs should get their eyes checked because they are three times more likely to get glaucoma, eye experts say.

Recent studies by a local team have unearthed a possible link between glaucoma and peripheral artery disease - the narrowing of the arteries in the lower limbs which disrupts blood flow and causes cramps in the leg muscles during physical activity.

In extreme cases, parts of the leg start dying off.

Poor blood flow in the legs is an indicator of poor blood flow elsewhere in the body, said Associate Professor Aung Tin, head and senior consultant at the Singapore National Eye Centre's glaucoma service.

When blood supply to the eyes is compromised, glaucoma or damage to the optic nerve sets in.

It accounts for 40 per cent of blindness in Singapore, and is a leading cause of irreversible blindness globally.

Because glaucoma develops gradually, many patients are unaware of their vision loss until very late.

Thus, those with poor circulation in their lower limbs should take this as a warning sign and get their eyes examined for glaucoma before it is too late, said Prof Aung.

He believes the study done by his team is the first of its kind to link peripheral artery disease to glaucoma.

Other diseases already known to be associated with glaucoma, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, were corrected for in the study.

About 3 per cent of people over the age of 50 in Singapore have glaucoma; among those over 70, the incidence goes up to almost one in 10.

Eye doctors reckon the figures will go up as the population ages.

Dr Tan Seck Guan, a general surgery senior consultant at the Singapore General Hospital, noted that peripheral artery disease is also expected to become more widespread as more people get diabetes.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.