Impact of obesity on peripapillary choroidal thickness, macular choroidal thickness, and lamina cribrosa morphology

Obesity is known to be a significant risk factor for many ocular diseases. In order to understand the mechanism of obesity-related ocular diseases, we examined the lamina cribrosa morphology, peripapillary choroidal thickness (PPCT), and macular choroidal thickness (MCT) in obese women using optical coherence tomography (OCT).

This comparative cross-sectional study included the right eyes of 72 obese women and 63 healthy women classified based on body mass index (BMI). Each participant underwent a thorough ophthalmological examination and enhanced depth (EDI) OCT imaging, including measurements of PPCT from a total of 12 regions, MCT from a total of 7 regions, Bruch's membrane opening (BMO), lamina cribrosa thickness (LCT), lamina cribrosa depth (LCD), intraocular pressure (IOP), and central corneal thickness (CCT).

The mean age and BMI of the obese group were 32.36±7.38 years and 35.11±4.39 kg/m², while those of the control group were 31.64±7.78 years and 20.88±1.72 kg/m² (p = 0.658, and p<0.001, respectively). PPCT N1000, PPCT N1500, PPCT S1500, and PPCT T1500 were statistically significantly thinner in the obese group than the control group (p values were 0.039, 0.012, 0.027, and 0.036, respectively). IOP and CCT were significantly higher in the obese group than the control group (p = 0.016, and p = 0.019, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of MCT, BMO, LCT, and LCD.

We discovered thinning in the PPCT, which indicates microvascular abnormalities in the optic disc head. Microvascular alteration in the peripapillary region may be a potential initial event in the pathogenesis of several obesity-related ocular diseases, especially glaucoma.