Alcohol Consumption and Visual Impairment in a Rural Northern Chinese Population

Visual Impairment and Its Associated Factors Among Hypertensive Patients in Amhara Region Referral Hospitals, Ethiopia

Background

Visual impairment is one of the most common long-term effects of high blood pressure. It affects one's quality of life, independence, and mobility. There is a paucity of information regarding the prevalence of visual impairment due to hypertension in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of visual impairment and its associated factors among hypertensive patients in referral hospitals of the Amhara region, Ethiopia, 2021.

Methods

An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 423 study participants, which were selected by systematic random sampling technique. Data were collected by using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire and physical measurements. The collected data were entered into Epi-data version 4.6. Then, exported into SPSS Version 26 for analysis. The crude and adjusted odds ratios and 95% Confidence intervals were calculated. Both bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were done. Variables with a p-value of ≤0.05 were stated as significantly associated with visual impairment.

Results

The overall prevalence of visual impairment among hypertensive patients was 32.4% (95% CI: 27.9-37.9). Duration of hypertension ≥ 5 years (AOR =3.06, 95% CI: 1.86-4.95), history of ocular trauma (AOR =2.50, 95% CI: 1.3-4.73), and ever alcohol drinking (AOR = 2.72, 95% CI: 1.32-5.62) were significantly associated with visual impairment.

Conclusion

Nearly one-third of hypertensive patients were visually impaired from the study participants. Duration of hypertension ≥5 years, history of ocular trauma, and ever alcohol drinking was significantly associated with visual impairment among hypertensive patients. Therefore, in addition to providing medical care and follow-up services for hypertension patients, health education is needed for early and proper management of visual impairment, and to decrease their level of alcohol consumption. Furthermore, better to do this study by prospective cohort study design to identify cause-and-effect relationships.

Alcohol use patterns and risk of incident cataract surgery: a large scale case-control study in Japan

To examine the risk of incident cataract surgery associated with alcohol use patterns among Japanese adults. This was a case-control study evaluating 14,861 patients with incident cataract surgery and 14,861 matched controls. Subjects admitted to any of the 34 hospitals in Japan and aged between 40 and 69 years were included. Drinking patterns (drinking frequency, daily average drinks, and total amount of lifetime drinking), smoking history, lifestyle-related comorbidities, and occupational factors were surveyed by trained interviewers. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using conditional logistic regression models. For drinking frequency, ORs in the 1-3 days/week and 4-7 days/week groups were 1.10 (95% CI 1.03-1.17) and 1.30 (1.21-1.40), respectively. For average drinks, ORs in > 0-2 drinks/day, > 2-4 drinks/day, and > 4 drinks/day were 1.13 (1.06-1.20), 1.23 (1.12-1.35), and 1.16 (1.03-1.31), respectively. Both men and women had an increased risk of incident cataract surgery with increased total lifetime drinking, with a significant increase in risk occurring at > 90 drink-years for men and > 40 drink-years for women. A positive dose-response relationship was observed between alcohol consumption and cataract. Restricted drinking may help to reduce the progression of cataracts.

A Dose–Response Relationship of Alcohol Consumption with Risk of Visual Impairment in Korean Adults: The Kangbuk Samsung Health Study

Visual impairment is a global health problem that leads to poor quality of life. The aim of the study was to examine the dose–response relationship between alcohol consumption and incident visual impairment (VI). This longitudinal cohort study consisted of 287,352 Korean adults who attended health screenings between March 2011 and December 2017 and were followed for up to 8.8 years (median, 4.9 years). Participants were categorized based on their average alcohol consumption. VI was defined as bilateral visual acuity (VA) worse than 0.3 logMAR. We identified 8320 cases of new-onset bilateral VI (incidence rate, 6.0/1000 person-years). Increased alcohol intake was positively and dose-dependently associated with elevated incidence of VI (p_trend < 0.001). With lifetime abstinence (reference), the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) (95% confidence intervals (CIs)) for incident VI with alcohol intake of <10, 10 to <20, 20–39.9, and ≥40 g/day were 1.07 (0.96–1.19), 1.15 (1.03–1.30), 1.15 (1.01–1.30), and 1.23 (1.08–1.40), respectively. Frequent binge drinking (≥once/per week) was associated with elevated risk of VI (HRs, 1.22; 95% CIs: 1.13–1.32). Former drinkers, particularly men, were at a higher risk for incident VI than lifetime abstainers. Similar associations were observed on evaluating changes in alcohol consumption and other confounders as time-varying covariates. Alcohol consumption, both in moderation and excess, was associated with increased VI incidence.

Cardiovascular Health and Near Visual Impairment Among Older Adults in the Republic of Congo: A Population-Based Study

BACKGROUND

Visual impairment (VI) and determinants of poor cardiovascular health are very common in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, we do not know whether these determinants are associated with VI among older adults in this region. This study aimed at investigating the association between the determinants of poor cardiovascular health and near VI among older adults living in Congo.

METHODS

Participants were Congolese adults aged 65 or older included in Epidemiology of Dementia in Central Africa-Follow-up population-based cohort. Near VI was defined as visual acuity less than 20/40 measured at 30 cm. Associations between determinants of poor cardiovascular health collected at baseline and near visual acuity measured at first follow-up were investigated using multivariable logistic regression models.

RESULTS

Among the 549 participants included, 378 (68.8%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 64.9%-72.7%]) had near VI. Of the determinants of poor cardiovascular health explored, we found that having high body mass index of at least 25 kg/m2 (odds ratio [OR] = 2.15; 95% CI: 1.25-3.68), diabetes (OR = 2.12; 95% CI: 1.06-4.25) and hypertension (OR = 1.65; 95% CI: 1.02-2.64) were independently associated with near VI.

CONCLUSIONS

Several determinants of poor cardiovascular health were associated with near VI in this population. This study suggests that promoting good cardiovascular health could represent a target for VI prevention among older adults.

Prevalence and factors associated with uncorrected presbyopia in a rural population of Japan: the Locomotive Syndrome and Health Outcome in Aizu Cohort Study

PURPOSE

To investigate the prevalence and factors associated with uncorrected presbyopia among rural community dwellers in Japan.

STUDY DESIGN

A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted in 2011 among community dwellers aged 40-74 years who received specific health checkups in Minamiaizu and Tadami, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

METHODS

Uncorrected presbyopia was considered as when the distance-corrected visual acuity in the better eye was ≥0.5 and the near-presenting visual acuity in the better eye was <0.4, regardless of distance refractive status. Multiple logistic regression analysis was employed to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) for uncorrected presbyopia and to adjust for possible confounders.

RESULTS

A total of 2054 individuals participated in the specific health checkups. In the 1156 individuals (response rate: 56.28%) analyzed in the study, the mean (SD) age was 63.0 (8.7) years, the percentage of women was higher (57.87%), and the prevalence of uncorrected presbyopia was 26.38% (95% CI 23.86%-29.03%). Multivariate analysis revealed that the factors associated with uncorrected presbyopia were older age (adjusted OR: 1.054 [95% CI: 1.034-1.075]), female sex (adjusted OR: 1.388 [95% CI: 1.006-1.915]), and distance-presenting vision impairment (adjusted OR: 2.651 [95% CI: 1.697-4.143]).

CONCLUSION

Approximately one-quarter of the participants in this study from a rural population of Japan did not have adequate near vision. It is recommended that a public health intervention should be enacted to correct presbyopia, especially in the older age group, women, and those with uncorrected refractive errors.

Abnormal gray matter asymmetry in alcohol dependence

Previous voxel-based morphometry studies have provided evidence that patients with alcohol dependence (AD) have widespread gray matter morphological abnormalities. However, brain structural asymmetry in AD has not been assessed to date. Here, we aimed to use a recently developed voxel-based morphometry-based approach to investigate global and regional gray matter asymmetry alterations in AD. A total of 39 male individuals, including 19 AD patients and 20 age-matched healthy controls, underwent high-resolution structural MRI. Global and voxel-wise gray matter asymmetries were measured separately by the Dice coefficient and the asymmetry index, which were compared between the two groups. We found no difference in the global gray matter asymmetry between AD patients and healthy controls. However, voxel-wise gray matter asymmetry analysis showed that AD patients and healthy controls had different distribution patterns of brain regions with a rightward asymmetry and a leftward asymmetry Furthermore, we observed an increased rightward asymmetry of gray matter in the hemispheric I-IV and V of the cerebellum and lingual gyrus in AD patients. These findings suggest that abnormal structural asymmetry in the cerebellum and the primary visual cortex may be the neural mechanisms contributing toward motor and visual impairments in AD.

Increased serum periostin concentrations are associated with the presence of diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

PURPOSE

To determine the association between serum periostin and the presence of diabetic retinopathy (DR).

METHODS

Serum periostin was detected in 114 healthy subjects, 122 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and 159 patients with DR and compared among groups. Clinical data and other laboratory measurements such as glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), lipid profiles, serum creatinine (Cr) and high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) were also collected and compared among groups. For subgroup analysis, patients with DR were divided into a non-proliferated diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) group and a proliferated diabetic retinopathy (PDR) group. Multivariate analysis was performed using logistic regression models.

RESULTS

The serum periostin level was significantly higher in patients with diabetic retinopathy compared with healthy subjects and patients with T2DM (both P < 0.001, respectively). Also, the periostin level was significantly higher in the PDR group compared to the NPDR group (P = 0.044). Multivariate logistic regression revealed that serum periostin was independently associated with the presence of DR in patients with T2DM (P < 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for DR development using serum periostin showed that the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) was 0.838 (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The current study demonstrated that serum periostin is significantly associated with the presence of DR in patients with T2DM and is an independent risk factor of DR.