Obesity in Children as a Predictor of the Development of Myopia

Abstract

Despite a suffi cient number of scientifi c studies devoted to the study of myopia risk factors, the infl uence of obesity on the degree of myopia risk in childhood has not been suffi ciently studied, which prompted us to study this issue using children as an example. The aim is to study the frequency and degree of myopia risk in overweight and obese children.Material and Methods. The sample of children for the study was formed step by step in the process of randomization. Thefi rst stage included a one-time epidemiological study of children aged 10-18 years during preventive examinations in schools of Chernivtsi and Chernivtsi region (1,035 persons). The primary screening included anthropometry and assessment of physical development. For detailed examination 205 persons were selected: with overweight (OW, 65 persons), with obesity (75 persons) and with normal body weight (65 persons, comparison group). The ophthalmologic examination included: visometry without and with correction, autorefractokeratometry before and after cycloplegia, biomicroscopy, ophthalmoscopy, optical biometry of the eye. To reveal the statistical diff erence between indicators in normally distributed groups, the Student’s t criterion of reliability was used, the degree of signifi cance – r. Comparison of groups on a qualitative basis was performed using Pearson’s χ2 test. Diff erences were considered statistically signifi cant at p <0.05.The research design and all methods used in this study were reviewed and approved by the Bioethics Committee of theBukovinian State Medical University (Protocol No. 10, dated 18.05.2002). The study was conducted within the research work «Early diagnosis, treatment and prevention of combined pathology of gastrointestinal tract and thyroid gland in children» (state registration number 0116U002937, implementation period 02.2016-11.2022).Results. The frequency of myopia in children with OW and obesity was signifi cantly higher than in children with average body weight (χ2 = 3.2, p < 0.05). Children with obesity and myopia were 2.7 times more likely to have diseases of the musculoskeletal system, 1.8 times more likely to have pathology of the autonomic nervous system, and 3.1 times more likely to have chronic diseases of the oropharynx than children in the control group. In all groups of children, the additional risk was greatest in children whose mother or father was myopic (49.6 and 41.3 %, respectively). Minimal additional risk was associated with a history of childhood infections (<1.6 %), helminthiasis (<3.9 %), nasal polyps (<3.4 %), adenoids (<2.4 %), and spinal cord injury at birth (<9.1 %). The odds ratio for the development of low myopia in the group with OW and obesity compared to the control group (normal weight) were 1.25 [95 % CI 0.56-2.82] and 0.88 [95 % CI 0.49-1. 58], for the development of moderate myopia – 1.22 [95 % CI 0.57-2.59] and 0.82 [95 % CI 0.46-1.49], respectively, and for the development of high myopia–1.37 [95 % CI 0.51-3.66] and 0.80 [95 % CI 0.49-2.09], respectively.Conclusion. The risk of myopia is higher in children with overweight and obesity, which emphasizes the importance andnecessity of taking into account the somatic condition of the child.