Choroidal Thickness in Childhood Obesity

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Pediatrics
• Endocrinology

Background:

• Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern.
• Obesity is linked to various systemic health issues.
• The ocular manifestations of childhood obesity require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between obesity and choroidal thickness (CT) in children.
• To determine if increased body mass index (BMI) is associated with changes in CT.
• To explore potential links between adiposity and ocular health in pediatric populations.

Main Methods:

• A comparative study involving children with obesity and healthy controls.
• Comprehensive ophthalmic examinations including enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) for CT measurement.
• Calculation of Body Mass Index (BMI) for all participants.

Main Results:

• Children with obesity exhibited significantly greater subfoveal choroidal thickness (CT) compared to healthy controls (385.77 µm vs. 348.43 µm, P = .017).
• A significant positive correlation was observed between subfoveal CT and BMI (r = 0.288; P = .004).
• Higher BMI values were associated with increased CT in the study cohort.

Conclusions:

• Childhood obesity is associated with increased choroidal thickness.
• Adiposity in children may lead to significant alterations in ocular structures.
• The findings suggest that obesity could be a risk factor for ocular complications in children.