However, drinking decaffeinated and caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated tea, iced tea and soft drinks does not seem to make any difference to glaucoma risk, said researchers from the University of California in the US.
Glaucoma causes fluid pressure to build up inside the eye (intraocular pressure), damaging the optic nerve.
It is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide, and currently affects 57.5 million people, and is expected to increase to 65.5 million by 2020, according to the study published in the journal BMJ.
The researchers looked at data from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in the US.
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Among the 1678 participants who had full eye test results, including photos, 84 (5 per cent) adults had developed the condition.
They were asked how often and how much they had drunk of caffeinated and decaffeinated drinks, including soft drinks and iced tea, over the preceding 12 months, using a questionnaire.
Compared with those who did not drink hot tea every day, those who did, had a lower glaucoma risk, the data showed.
However, no such associations were found for coffee - caffeinated or decaffeinated - decaffeinated tea, iced tea or soft drinks.
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