Amblyopia associated with higher risk of cardiometabolic disorders: Lancet

A recent research published in the eClinicalMedicine journal unearthed a concerning connection between amblyopia, a prevalent neurodevelopmental condition which is a leading cause of visual impairment in children, and an increased risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases in adulthood. This study involved a comprehensive analysis of data from the United Kingdom Biobank cohort and marks a pivotal step in understanding the long-term health implications of childhood amblyopia.

This research from November 2021 to October 2022 scrutinized the health data of a total of 126,399 participants who underwent detailed ocular examinations, with a subset of 67,321 receiving retinal imaging. The study explored the relationship between amblyopia and various cardiometabolic disorders which were classified based on its resolution by adulthood that leveraged a wealth of data including ophthalmic assessments, self-reported health information, hospital admissions and mortality records.

The findings found individuals with amblyopia persisting into adulthood express a significantly higher likelihood of obesity, hypertension and diabetes when compared to the individuals without the condition. The persisting amblyopia was associated with a 16% higher risk of obesity, a 25% greater chance of hypertension and a 29% elevated risk of diabetes. Moreover, this study highlighted a disturbing relationship to more severe health outcomes that includes a 38% higher risk of myocardial infarction and a 36% increased risk of death.

The research looked into the morphological characteristics of the eyes of participants which revealed that amblyopic eyes show notable abnormalities in venular caliber, tortuosity and the fractal dimension of retinal vessels, as well as a thinner ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer. These anomalies were present in the amblyopic eye and to a lesser extent, in the unaffected fellow eyes by suggesting a generalized process rather than one limited to the eye with impaired vision.

These findings underscore the need for healthcare professionals to be cautious about the potential for greater cardiometabolic dysfunction in adults who experienced amblyopia during childhood. While the research provides compelling evidence of the association between amblyopia and later-life cardiometabolic disorders, the outcomes call for further research to fully understand the underlying mechanisms that drive these associations.

Source:

Wagner, S. K., Bountziouka, V., Hysi, P., Rahi, J. S., Allen, N., Aslam, T., Atan, D., Balaskas, K., Barman, S., Barrett, J., Bishop, P., Black, G., Braithwaite, T., Carare, R., Chakravarthy, U., Chan, M., Chua, S., Day, A., Desai, P., … Thomas, M. (2024). Associations between unilateral amblyopia in childhood and cardiometabolic disorders in adult life: a cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis of the UK Biobank. In eClinicalMedicine (p. 102493). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102493