Association Between Maternal Pre-Pregnancy Body Mass Index and Astigmatism and Corneal Curvature in Offspring: A...

To investigate the association between maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and astigmatism and corneal curvature in offspring.

Corneal topography and an optical biometer were used to measure ocular parameters, while cycloplegic autorefraction was performed to assess cylindrical diopter and axis. Demographic, pregnancy, and offspring-related information was collected through questionnaires. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the association.

A total of 213 mother-child pairs were included. Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was categorized as underweight (11.3%), normal weight (66.7%), overweight (16.0%), and obese (6.1%). The mean age of the offspring was 6.80 ± 2.44 years (males 49.3%). Offspring born to mothers with overweight or obese pre-pregnancy BMI exhibited significantly higher steep corneal curvature, average corneal curvature, corneal astigmatism, and total astigmatism compared to those in the normal pre-pregnancy BMI group. In multiple linear regression analysis, after adjusting for relevant covariates, pre-pregnancy BMI was positively associated with steep corneal curvature (β=0.35, P=0.005), corneal astigmatism (β=0.21, P=0.001), and total astigmatism (β=0.22, P<0.001). Compared to normal pre-pregnancy BMI, pre-pregnancy obesity was positively associated with offspring steep corneal curvature (β=1.52, P=0.002) and those born to mothers with overweight or obese pre-pregnancy BMI had a significantly higher prevalence of corneal astigmatism (overweight: β=0.56, P=0.001; obese: β=0.55, P=0.038) and total astigmatism (overweight: β=0.47, P=0.002; obese: β=0.59, P=0.010).

Offspring of mothers with overweight or obese pre-pregnancy BMI show higher prevalence of developing corneal and total astigmatism compared to the normal.