Positive correlation found between BMI, ocular parameters
Strong positive correlations found between BMI and anterior chamber depth and BMI and IOP, according to a study published in Clinical Ophthalmology.
“This research is the first study of the association between both anterior and posterior segment ophthalmic parameters and BMI in a Thai population,” Nisa Panon, OD, MS, faculty of optometry at Rangsit University in Pathumthani, Thailand, and colleagues wrote. “IOP significantly increased in the overweight subjects. Moreover, the overweight subjects also had a significant positive correlation between IOP and BMI.”
53 left eyes of with normal weight (BMI between 18.5 kg/m2 22.9 kg/m2) and 67 eyes of overweight (BMI between 23.0 kg/m2 to 29.9kg/m2). All had measurements for arterial blood pressure, height, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, BMI, waist-hip ratio calculations recorded and a medical history interview. with systemic disease history, ocular disease or surgery or disability were not included in the study.
BMI and waist-hip ratio were significantly higher in the overweight group than the normal weight group (BMI 26.67 kg/m2 waist-hip ratio 20.89 kg/m2). IOP was significantly higher in the overweight group than the normal weight group (P=.002) and ganglion cell thickness and macular thickness were significantly different both groups (P=.036 and P=.009).
a correlation between BMI and IOP (P=.003) and BMI and anterior chamber depth (P=.03). A multivariable analysis showed BMI positively correlated with anterior chamber depth (P=.005).
“Univariate and multivariate analysis showed a strong positive correlation between BMI and [anterior chamber depth],” the researchers wrote. “We suspect that degree of obesity may also be important and suggest that any possible relationship between ocular parameters and severity of obesity should be further investigated.”
Perspective
Back to Top
Life in the time of COVID-19 seems to be a perfect moment to break out the phrase, “There are lies, damned lies and statistics.” A statistician mentor of mine tells an anecdote where he was given a pile of data and asked by a researcher, “Can you tell me what it means?” His answer was, “What do you want it to mean?” One of the first things that caught my attention in looking at this paper is the definition of what is considered overweight. U.S.-based groups and the World Health Organization now consider a BMI greater than 25 to be overweight. An older 2002 WHO definition using BMI higher than 23 as overweight was used in this study. Additionally, in a study looking at ocular parameters, the term refractive error is not found anywhere. The term axial length was found, to say it wasn’t measured. In the time of COVID-19 and open source journals papers are being run through the peer review process at lightning speed. This makes it even more important for all of us in health care to take a deep breath and think very carefully about what we just read.
Collapse
Read more about