The Association of Intraocular Pressure With Obesity and Cardiometabolic Risk in a Young Farmworker Population

Abstract

Précis: Intraocular pressure (IOP) was found to be significantly correlated with body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in a farmworker population located in the southeast Georgia, USA. BMI was correlated with IOP, independent of systemic blood pressures. Purpose: Elevated IOP is a known risk factor for glaucomatous optic neuropathy and is believed to be associated with obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. The high prevalence of these conditions in the United States necessitates an evaluation of the relationship among obesity, cardiometabolic risks, and IOP among understudied younger populations. Materials and Methods: Farmworker data were collected from the annual Costa-Layman Health Fair between 2013 and 2017. Correlations of IOP with demographic factors, obesity, and cardiometabolic risks were analyzed using analysis of covariance, partial Pearson correlations, and linear regressions. Results: In the farmworker population (n=346), the mean IOP was 15.5 mm Hg and the prevalence of ocular hypertension (IOP>21 mm Hg) was 5.5%. BMI, waist circumference, and DBP were significantly correlated (r=0.192, P=0.001; r=0.128, P=0.017; r=0.142, P=0.007, respectively) with IOP when adjusted for age, sex, and ethnicity. Each 10 mm Hg increase in DBP corresponded with a 0.51 mm Hg increase in IOP. With adjustment for age, sex, ethnicity, systolic blood pressure, and DBP, BMI remained significantly correlated with IOP (r=0.166, P=0.002). Conclusions: Higher IOP is associated with obesity measures including BMI and waist circumference and is correlated with DBP. These findings suggest that BMI is an independent risk factor for elevated IOP.

Risk factors associated with elevated intraocular pressure: a population-based study in a rural community of Bangladesh

“…Therefore, the systemic factors causing elevated IOP are linked. This result is consistent with many cross-sectional and longitudinal studies where participants with obesity, typically represented by BMI, have experienced elevated IOP 27 28. Obesity has been suspected of increasing IOP by excessive intraorbital adipose tissue, increases in blood viscosity, increased hyperleptinaemia-induced oxidative stress on the trabecular meshwork and outflow facilities and increases in episcleral venous pressure, causing a consequent decrease in the facility of aqueous outflow 11…”

Fatty Liver Is an Independent Risk Factor for Elevated Intraocular Pressure

“…SBP is a strong risk factor for EIOP [ 21 , 22 , 23 ]. According to a previous longitudinal prospective study, [ 21 ] for a 10 mmHg increase in SBP and DBP, there was a 0.21 mmHg and 0.43 mmHg increase in IOP, respectively.…”

Microbiome Dysbiosis: A Pathological Mechanism at the Intersection of Obesity and Glaucoma

“…The majority of epidemiological studies have focused on the connection between obesity and IOP, or ocular hypertension. Various studies have revealed an independent cross-sectional connection between obesity and ocular hypertension using population-based data [ 47 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 ]. A high BMI was found to be a significant risk factor for glaucoma in the Gangnam Eye Study [ 61 ], and a link between high BMI and high IOP was found in the 2008–2010 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [ 62 ].…”

“…As aforementioned, several studies have reported that obesity has a positive correlation with increased IOP and an increased risk of developing glaucoma [ 46 , 49 , 51 , 52 , 65 , 123 , 124 ]. In young adults in particular, obesity could be a potential risk factor for glaucoma [ 63 ].…”

“…Obesity is correlated with gut dysbiosis and an increased risk of developing glaucoma [ 46 , 49 , 51 , 52 , 63 , 65 , 123 , 124 ]. On the other hand, gut microbiome dysbiosis appears to play a crucial role in the development of several ocular diseases [ 234 , 235 , 236 ] and glaucoma [ 137 ].…”