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Updated: Apr 11, 2026
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Body fat distribution, metabolic and inflammatory markers and retinal microvasculature in school-age children. The
O Gishti1,2,3, V W V Jaddoe1,2,3, A Hofman3
1The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Insights
Childhood obesity is linked to narrower retinal arterioles, while inflammation markers like C-reactive protein correlate with wider retinal venules. These findings suggest body fat and inflammation impact microvascular development from a young age.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatrics
- Cardiovascular Health
Background:
- Retinal vessel caliber is a potential indicator of systemic vascular health.
- Childhood obesity and inflammation are growing public health concerns.
- Understanding early-life associations can inform long-term health trajectories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between body fatness, metabolic/inflammatory markers, and retinal vessel calibers in children.
- To determine if obesity or specific biomarkers are associated with changes in retinal arteriolar or venular caliber.
Main Methods:
- Population-based cohort study of 4145 school-age children.
- Measurements included body mass index, total and abdominal fat mass, blood biomarkers (lipids, insulin, C-peptide, C-reactive protein), and retinal vessel calibers from photographs.
- Analysis examined associations between these factors and retinal vascular dimensions.
Main Results:
- Obese children exhibited narrower retinal arteriolar caliber compared to normal-weight children.
- Higher body mass index and total body fat mass were associated with narrower retinal arterioles.
- Elevated C-reactive protein levels were linked to wider retinal venular caliber, independent of body mass index.
- Lipid and insulin levels showed no significant association with retinal vessel calibers.
Conclusions:
- Increased body fatness in children is associated with narrower retinal arterioles.
- Elevated C-reactive protein is linked to wider retinal venules, suggesting a role for inflammation.
- These findings indicate that body fat accumulation and inflammation are correlated with microvascular development starting in school age.
Objective:
To examine the associations of body fatness, metabolic and inflammatory markers with retinal vessel calibers among children.
Design:
We performed a population-based cohort study among 4145 school-age children. At the median age of 6.0 years (95% range 5.8, 8.0 years), we measured body mass index, total and abdominal fat mass, metabolic and inflammatory markers (blood levels of lipids, insulin and C-peptide and C-reactive protein) and retinal vascular calibers from retinal photographs.
Results:
We observed that compared with normal weight children, obese children had narrower retinal arteriolar caliber (difference -0.21 s.d. score (SDS; 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.35, -0.06)), but not venular caliber. Continuous analyses showed that higher body mass index and total body fat mass, but not android/gynoid fat mass ratio and pre-peritoneal fat mass, were associated with narrower retinal arteriolar caliber (P<0.05 for body mass index and total body fat mass), but not with retinal venular caliber. Lipid and insulin levels were not associated with retinal vessel calibers. Higher C-reactive protein was associated with only wider retinal venular caliber (difference 0.10 SDS (95% CI 0.06, 0.14) per SDS increase in C-reactive protein). This latter association was not influenced by body mass index.
Conclusions:
Higher body fatness is associated with narrower retinal arteriolar caliber, whereas increased C-reactive protein levels are associated with wider retinal venular caliber. Increased fat mass and inflammation correlate with microvascular development from school-age onwards.
