Does Obesity Affect The Ocular Choroid Tissue in Children and Adolescents?

INTRODUCTION: Obesity may cause microangiopathic changes associated with the inflammatory process. The choroid tissue of the eye is one of the most highly vascularized tissues of body and supplies the outer 1/3 of the retina. Thinning in choroid tissue is an indicator of damage. Few studies have investigated obesity-induced choroid tissue damage in children, and their findings are inconsistent.
The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in choroid tissue thickness in non-diabetic children and adolescents using optic coherence tomography (OCT) and the association with metabolic risk factors.

METHODS: One hundred fifty-six eyes of 38 obese and 40 healthy children and adolescents aged 10-18 were included in the study. Bilateral choroidal thicknesses were measured. We then investigated correlations between choroidal thickness and age, body measurements, pubertal stages, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR) and lipid values.
RESULTS: Mean choroidal thicknesses measured using OCT were 284.4 ± 34.9 µm in the obese group and 316.3±39.7 µm in the control group (p=0.018).Choroidal thickness in the obese group decreased as body mass index (BMI) standard deviation scores (SDS) increased (r= -0.390, p= 0.000).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Mean choroidal thickness was lower in obese children and adolescents in this study compared to the healthy controls, and thinning in choroid tissue was more pronounced as BMI-SDS values increased. Increased adipose tissue may result in a susceptibility to damage by thinning choroid tissue.