A new approach to stratified normal intraocular pressure in a general population.

Using computer-filed data for approximately 187,000 eyes of 94,000 Japanese subjects who underwent automated multiphasic tests, we studied the mean and the upper limit of intraocular pressure by stratifying the whole sample by age, systolic blood pressure, and degree of obesity. Intraocular pressure increased when systolic blood pressure or obesity increased and intraocular pressure decreased with advancing age when systolic blood pressure and the degree of obesity were kept constant. Apparent disparities in the upper limit of intraocular pressure were noted between the "obese and hypertensive" and "lean and hypotensive" groups, who were at the highest and the lowest extremes, respectively. Stratified normal intraocular pressure is a standard specifically applied for different sex, age, or other systemic conditions; however, the values for the group with the highest intraocular pressure should eventually be modified by the data for Western populations.