Effects of Cigarette Smoking on Retinal and Choroidal Thickness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Cigarette smoking has been regarded as a risk factor for the incidence of a wide variety of chronic illness; however, its effect on thickness of the retina or choroid is still unknown.

A consummate literature search was conducted in PubMed and Embase up to January, 2018. The quantitative synthesis was conducted by Stata 12.0.

A total of 13 observational studies were included in this meta-analysis. In this meta-analysis of all available observational studies, no significant effect of tobacco smoking on retinal or choroidal thickness change was detected. However, advanced analyses showed that smoking would influence the thickness of RNFL (average: SMD, -0.332; 95% CI, -0.637 to -0.027; inferior: SMD, -0.632; 95% CI, -1.092 to -0.172; and superior: SMD, -0.720; 95% CI, -0.977 to -0.463) and GCL (superior: SMD, -0.549; 95% CI, -0.884 to -0.215; inferior: SMD, -0.602; 95% CI, -0.938 to -0.265). Meanwhile, subgroup analyses demonstrated that the results based on studies in some regions (America and Africa) and cross-sectional studies showed a reduced choroidal thickness in smokers. No publication bias was detected in this study.

In conclusion, no significant effect of tobacco smoking on retinal or choroidal thickness change was detected. However, smoking would influence the thickness of RNFL and GCL. Future research on this field would help in the prevention and treatment of smoking-associated disorders.