Association of Myopia With Risk of Incident Metabolic Syndrome: Findings From the UK Biobank Study Cohort of 91,591 Participants

Association between localized retinal nerve fiber layer defects in nonglaucomatous eyes and metabolic syndrome: a propensity score-matched analysis

Background

We investigated the association between metabolic syndrome and localized retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) defects in nonglaucomatous subjects.

Methods

We examined 20,385 adults who visited the Health Promotion Center of Seoul St. Mary's Hospital between May 2015 and April 2016. After excluding those with known glaucoma or glaucomatous optic discs, subjects with and without localized RNFL defects were 1:5 propensity score matched. Metabolic syndrome components, including central obesity, elevated triglyceride, reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, elevated blood pressure (BP), and elevated fasting glucose, were compared between two groups. We performed logistic regression to investigate the association between RNFL defects and each component of metabolic syndrome and the number of metabolic syndrome components.

Results

Subjects with RNFL defects showed higher waist-to-hip ratios, systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP), fasting blood glucose, and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels than did those without RNFL defects both before and after propensity score matching. The number of metabolic syndrome components was significantly greater in those with RNFL defects (1.66±1.35) than in those without (1.27±1.32, P<0.01). In multivariate logistic regression, the odds ratio (OR) of RNFL defects was significantly increased in subjects with central obesity [OR =1.53, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11-2.13], elevated BP (OR =1.50, 95% CI: 1.09-2.05), and an elevated fasting glucose level (OR =1.42, 95% CI: 1.03-1.97). An increased number of metabolic syndrome components was associated with a higher risk of RNFL defects.

Conclusions

Localized RNFL defects in nonglaucomatous subjects are associated with metabolic syndrome components, including central obesity, elevated BP, and an elevated fasting glucose level, suggesting that comorbid metabolic syndrome should be considered when evaluating subjects with RNFL defects.

Dental caries and periodontitis and the risk of myopia in young adults: CHIEF oral health study

Aim

Oral health and ocular diseases may be associated with collagen defects and inflammation status. However, the results from prior studies are conflicting. The aim of this study was to explore the association of dental caries and periodontitis with myopia in young adults.

Materials and methods

A total of 938 military personnel aged 19–39 years receiving both oral and eye examinations from 2018 through 2020 were included in this study in Taiwan. The severity of myopia was graded as no myopia (diopters > − 0.5, N = 459), low myopia (diopters: − 0.5 to -5.9, N = 225) and high myopia (diopters ≤ − 6.0, N = 254). A multiple logistic regression analysis with adjustments for age, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, smoking, alcohol consumption, missing teeth numbers, blood leucocyte counts, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, and uric acid were used to determine the associations of actively dental caries, filled teeth and stage II/III periodontitis with myopia.

Results

The presence of any actively dental caries was significantly associated with a higher risk of any myopia (low or high) (odds ratio [OR] and 95% confidence intervals [95% CI] 1.42 [1.04–1.94]), whereas there was no association for filled teeth. Moreover, the association for stage II/III periodontitis was only observed with high myopia (OR: 1.52 [1.07–2.15]) and was not observed with low myopia.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that only actively dental caries and a higher severity of periodontitis were associated with myopia among young adults, thus highlighting the dental inflammation status in the oral cavity as a potential link to ocular diseases.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12903-022-02413-w.