A Complex Association Between Obesity and Incident Cataract

Takeaway

• Obesity, defined by body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and trunk fat percentage, was associated with a higher incidence of cataract, independent of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and other covariates.

• An inverse association was observed between obesity and incident cataract in patients with diabetes.

Why this matters

• Findings warrant further research to investigate the mechanisms underlying the inverse association between obesity and cataract in patients with diabetes.

Study design

• The study included 153,139 participants (age, 40-70 years) from the UK Biobank (2006-2010).

• Funding: Fundamental Research Funds of the State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and others.

Key results

• During a median follow-up of 10.9 years, 15,255 cases of incident cataract were reported.

• Obesity defined by BMI was associated with an increased risk of incident cataract (adjusted HR [aHR], 1.21; 95% CI, 1.16-1.26), and this association diminished but remained significant after adjustment for HbA1c (aHR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.00-1.10).

• After adjustment for HbA1c and other covariates, obesity defined by waist circumference (aHR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.01-1.08) and waist-to-hip ratio (aHR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.04-1.13) was associated with a higher risk of incident cataract.

• Obesity defined by fat percentage was associated with a higher risk of incident cataract (aHR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.08-1.15), but the risk was not significant after adjustment for covariates (aHR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.98-1.06).

• A significant positive association was seen between obesity defined by BMI and incident cataract in individuals with normal HbA1c (aHR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.02-1.13), and a significant inverse association was seen in those with prediabetes (aHR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67-0.96) or diabetes (aHR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.61-0.89).

Limitations

• Observational design.

This clinical summary originally appeared on Univadis, part of the Medscape Professional Network.

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Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.

Cite this: Pavankumar Kamat. A Complex Association Between Obesity and Incident Cataract - Medscape - Nov 25, 2021.