Association of childhood obesity with retinal microvasculature and corneal endothelial cell morphology

To investigate the optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and specular microscopy (SM) findings in obese children and compare them with healthy ones.

In this prospective study, 50 eyes of 25 obese children [body mass index (BMI) ≥95th percentile], 36 eyes of 18 control age- and sex- matched healthy subjects (BMI <85th percentile) were included. Demographic features and ophthalmological examination including OCTA measurements as well as SM findings were assessed. Cellular morphology was observed by noncontact SM and results for corneal endothelial cell density (cells/mm²), coefficient of variation of cell size and percentage of hexagonal cells were obtained. The OCTA was performed with 6 × 6 mm sections for macula and 4.5 × 4.5 mm sections for optic disc in all eyes. Foveal retinal thickness (FRT), retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, vessel density in different sections of retina and optic nerve head were analyzed.

All SM parameters, RNFL thickness for average, and all quadrants and optic disc radial peripapillary capillary densities were similar between groups. However, FRT, flow area for choriocapillaris, superficial and deep foveal capillary densities were significantly higher in obese group when compared to controls (242.4 ± 18.2 µm vs. 232.1 ± 16.5 µm, p=0.024, 2.2 ± 0.1 mm² vs, 2.2 ± 0.0 mm², p=0.042, 22.4 ± 6.9% vs. 15.6 ± 5.5%, p=0.001, and 38.9 ± 7.5% vs. 31.1 ± 8.6 %, p=0.001, respectively).

Obese children seem to have higher values of FRT, flow area for choriocapillaris, superficial and deep foveal capillary densities. These results may have significant implications for understanding of how childhood obesity could affect retinal microvasculature.