RT Journal Article
T1 Intraocular pressure fluctuations and the role of the Valsalva maneuver in young professional musicians
A1 Noya Padín, Verónica
A1 Silva, Filipe da
A1 Martingo, Ângelo
A1 Matos, Vítor
A1 Lira, Madalena
A1 Pena Verdeal, Hugo
K1 Instrument players
K1 Intraocular pressure
K1 Otoscopy
K1 Rebound tonometry
K1 Valsalva maneuver
AB Objective(1) To determine whether intraocular pressure (IOP) fluctuations while playing musical instruments is specific to the instrument type, (2) to investigate the role of the Valsalva maneuver as an underlying mechanism, and (3) to evaluate relationships between IOP values and demographic and environmental factors.DesignCross-sectional study.ParticipantsSixty-five musicians were enrolled. Of these, 2 were excluded due to glaucoma history and intolerance to IOP measurements. The final sample consisted of 63 young professional musicians (34 wind instrumentalists and 29 non-wind instrumentalists).MethodsParticipants underwent tonometry (ICare IC100) and otoscopy (Dino-Lite Basic EarScope) and completed a self-administered questionnaire on demographic and environmental factors. Tonometry and otoscopy procedures were performed simultaneously at four time point: before playing, while playing a low-pitched note and a high-pitched note, and after playing.Main outcome measuresIOP and tympanic membrane movement.ResultsNo differences in IOP were observed between wind and non-wind instrumentalists at baseline, during low-pitch playing, or after playing (Mann-Whitney U test, all p≥0.052). However, IOP differed while high-pitch playing (Mann-Whitney U test, p=0.007), with both high- and low-resistance wind instrumentalists showing higher IOP than non-wind instrumentalists (Mann-Whitney U test, both p≤0.041). IOP change relative to baseline (ΔIOP) similarly revealed differences during high-pitch playing and additionally detected differences during low-pitch playing (Mann-Whitney U test, both p≤0.025). Within the wind category, no differences in IOP were found between high- and low-resistance (Mann-Whitney U test, all p≥0.323), and same pattern was observed for ΔIOP (Mann-Whitney U test, all p≥0.112). The Valsalva maneuver was not detected for any instrument or under any measurement conditions. In addition, no relationships were found with demographic or environmental factors and IOP fluctuations (Pearson’s or Spearman’s correlation, all p≥0.273), although baseline IOP positively correlated with age at which wind instrumentalists began playing their instrument (Pearson’s correlation, r=0.348, p=0.048).ConclusionsIOP fluctuations during musical instrument performance occur specifically in wind instrumentalists and are not attributable to involuntary Valsalva maneuvers during playing. Moreover, basal IOP correlated with age of instrument debut in wind instrumentalists, while no other demographic or environmental factors related to IOP measurements or its fluctuations.
PB Elsevier
SN 0161-6420
YR 2026
FD 2026-04-22
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/47000
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/47000
LA eng
NO Noya-Padin, V., Da Silva, F., Martingo, Â., Matos, V., Lira, M., & Pena-Verdeal, H. (2026). Intraocular pressure fluctuations and the role of the Valsalva maneuver in young professional musicians. Ophthalmology, S0161-6420(26)00288-5.
NO This work was supported by the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) through the research project 2024-PU028; and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding UID/04650/2025, DOI identifier doi.org/10.54499/UID/04650/2025: Physics Center of Minho and Porto Universities (CF-UM-UP).
DS Minerva
RD 24 may 2026