The association between intraocular pressure and predictors of coronary heart disease risk in Koreans

Prevalence of Ocular Hypertension and Other Risk Factors of Open-Angle Glaucoma Among Middle-Aged Adults in Al-Baha City, Saudi Arabia

Background Ocular hypertension (OHT), defined by elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) beyond standard levels, is a predominant risk factor for initiating and exacerbating glaucoma, a collection of progressive optic neuropathies responsible for irreversible vision loss. Given the profound implications for vision care, it is imperative to elucidate the interplay between OHT and glaucoma for effective clinical management. Objective The present study aims to measure IOP levels and identify risk factors associated with glaucoma among middle-aged individuals in Al-Baha City, Saudi Arabia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted over a six-month span (January-June 2022) in Al-Baha City. The study cohort comprised adults aged 35 and above attending a glaucoma awareness campaign at King Fahad Hospital, Al-Baha. Parameters such as demographics, socioeconomic status, medical and ocular history, and familial history of eye diseases were collated. Initial ophthalmologic assessments and IOP measurements were performed. Statistical analyses utilized Pearson's Chi-square test for nominal variables. Results The study encompassed 111 participants, 84 (75.7%) of whom were male, and 75 (67.6%) were of Saudi nationality. Notably, 102 (91.9%) reported no family history of glaucoma, 91 (81.1%) indicated no past medical history and 81 (73.0%) were not on any chronic medications. The mean IOP for participants' right and left eyes fluctuated between 18.2-21.5 mmHg and 18.9-22.1 mmHg, respectively. Factors such as age, gender, family history of glaucoma, past medical history, use of chronic medications, and history of ophthalmic surgeries demonstrated a statistically significant correlation with IOP (p<0.05). Conclusion This study highlights a higher prevalence of OHT in females, with several risk factors for OHT and glaucoma identified, such as familial history, vascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, and chronic medication use. Notably, our study did not observe a significant association with age or smoking. These findings emphasize the necessity of regular eye examinations and IOP monitoring, especially in high-risk groups.

The Association Between Age and Systemic Variables and the Longitudinal Trend of Intraocular Pressure in a Large-Scale Health Examination Cohort

Purpose

The detailed effects of age and systemic factors on intraocular pressure (IOP) have not been fully understood because of the lack of a large-scale longitudinal investigation. This study aimed to investigate the effect of various systemic factors on the longitudinal change of IOP.

Methods

There were a total of 20,909 eyes of 10,471 subjects from a health checkup cohort that were followed up for systemic factors: (i) age at baseline, (ii) sex, (iii) time series body mass index (BMI), (iv) time series smoking habits, (v) time series systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP and DBP), and (vi) time series 19 blood examinations (all of the time series data was acquired at each annual visit), along with IOP annually for at least 8 years. Then the longitudinal effect of the systemic factors on the change of IOP was investigated.

Results

IOP significantly decreased by −0.084 mm Hg/year. BMI, SBP, DBP, smoking habits, total triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and glycosylated hemoglobin A1c were not significantly associated with the change of IOP. Higher values of age, aspartate aminotransferase, hemoglobin, platelet, and calcium were suggested to be significantly associated with the decrease of IOP, whereas higher alanine aminotransferase, guanosine triphosphate, white blood cell count, red blood cell count, and female gender were significantly associated with the increase of IOP.

Conclusions

Age, aspartate aminotransferase, hemoglobin, platelet, calcium, alanine aminotransferase, guanosine triphosphate, white blood cell count, red blood cell count, and gender were the systemic variables significantly associated with the change of IOP.

Predicting intraocular pressure using systemic variables or fundus photography with deep learning in a health examination cohort

The purpose of the current study was to predict intraocular pressure (IOP) using color fundus photography with a deep learning (DL) model, or, systemic variables with a multivariate linear regression model (MLM), along with least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression (LASSO), support vector machine (SVM), and Random Forest: (RF). Training dataset included 3883 examinations from 3883 eyes of 1945 subjects and testing dataset 289 examinations from 289 eyes from 146 subjects. With the training dataset, MLM was constructed to predict IOP using 35 systemic variables and 25 blood measurements. A DL model was developed to predict IOP from color fundus photographs. The prediction accuracy of each model was evaluated through the absolute error and the marginal R-squared (mR2), using the testing dataset. The mean absolute error with MLM was 2.29 mmHg, which was significantly smaller than that with DL (2.70 dB). The mR2 with MLM was 0.15, whereas that with DL was 0.0066. The mean absolute error (between 2.24 and 2.30 mmHg) and mR2 (between 0.11 and 0.15) with LASSO, SVM and RF were similar to or poorer than MLM. A DL model to predict IOP using color fundus photography proved far less accurate than MLM using systemic variables.

The Association of Intraocular Pressure With Obesity and Cardiometabolic Risk in a Young Farmworker Population

PRCIS

Intraocular pressure (IOP) was found to be significantly correlated with body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in a farmworker population located in the southeast Georgia, USA. BMI was correlated with IOP, independent of systemic blood pressures.

PURPOSE

Elevated IOP is a known risk factor for glaucomatous optic neuropathy and is believed to be associated with obesity and cardiometabolic diseases. The high prevalence of these conditions in the United States necessitates an evaluation of the relationship among obesity, cardiometabolic risks, and IOP among understudied younger populations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Farmworker data were collected from the annual Costa-Layman Health Fair between 2013 and 2017. Correlations of IOP with demographic factors, obesity, and cardiometabolic risks were analyzed using analysis of covariance, partial Pearson correlations, and linear regressions.

RESULTS

In the farmworker population (n=346), the mean IOP was 15.5 mm Hg and the prevalence of ocular hypertension (IOP>21 mm Hg) was 5.5%. BMI, waist circumference, and DBP were significantly correlated (r=0.192, P=0.001; r=0.128, P=0.017; r=0.142, P=0.007, respectively) with IOP when adjusted for age, sex, and ethnicity. Each 10 mm Hg increase in DBP corresponded with a 0.51 mm Hg increase in IOP. With adjustment for age, sex, ethnicity, systolic blood pressure, and DBP, BMI remained significantly correlated with IOP (r=0.166, P=0.002).

CONCLUSIONS

Higher IOP is associated with obesity measures including BMI and waist circumference and is correlated with DBP. These findings suggest that BMI is an independent risk factor for elevated IOP.

Systemic factors associated with intraocular pressure among subjects in a health examination program in Japan

Background

To elucidate the possible effect of various systemic factors on intraocular pressure (IOP) using a dataset from a health examination program database in Japan.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included 1569 subjects selected from the 2287 subjects who comprised the database. Various systemic parameters including age, sex, height, body weight, waist circumference, percent body fat, blood pressure (BP), pulse rate, body mass index, 28 blood examination values, intimal medial thicknesses of both carotid arteries, and intraocular pressure (IOP) values measured by non-contact tonometry in both eyes were collected. The possible correlation between the IOP and other parameters was assessed initially by univariate analyses followed by multivariate analyses.

Results

Stepwise multivariate analyses, which included all parameters extracted by the univariate analyses (p<0.1) and sex, identified the same six parameters as indicators of the IOP values for each right and left IOP model. Among the parameters, age (r = -0.05 and -0.04/year for right and left IOPs, respectively) was associated negatively and the percent body fat (r = 0.06 and 0.05/%), systolic BP (r = 0.02 and 0.03/mmHg), pulse rate (r = 0.03 and 0.03/counts/minutes), albumin (r = 1.12 and 1.00/g/dL), and hemoglobin A1c (r = 0.38 and 0.44/%) were associated positively with the IOP in each eye.

Conclusions

Older age was associated with low IOP, while factors reflecting the metabolic syndrome were associated with high IOP in our study population.

Examining the associations among intraocular pressure, hepatic steatosis, and anthropometric parameters

Emerging evidences had reported the positive relationship between obesity and intraocular pressure (IOP). The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between hepatic steatosis and IOP in an adult Taiwanese population.Seven thousand seven hundred twelve males and 6325 females who received a health examination at the Tri-Service General Hospital during the period from 2010 to 2016 were included in this study.IOP was measured by noncontact tonometry. Hepatic steatosis was diagnosed by abdominal ultrasound examination. Multivariate regression analyses were used to assess the associations among various anthropometric parameters and IOP.After adjusting for pertinent covariables, hepatic steatosis had a closer association with increased IOP than percentage body fat, body mass index, or waist circumference (β = 0.017, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.006, 0.028). This relationship remained significant among males in the study population (β = 0.015, 95% CI = 0.001, 0.029). Furthermore, hepatic steatosis was significantly correlated with increased risk of high IOP (odd ratios = 1.235, 95% CI = 1.041-1.465).Our study highlights that hepatic steatosis is a better index for assessing the relationship with increased IOP than other anthropometric parameters. Underlying pathophysiological mechanisms regulating the association between hepatic steatosis and increasing IOP and even the risk of glaucoma should be examined in further studies.

The association of intraocular pressure with metabolic syndrome and its components: a Meta-analysis and systematic review

AIM

To perform a Meta-analysis to explore the correlation between metabolic syndrome and intraocular pressure (IOP).

METHODS

We searched PubMed and Embase in November 2017 for studies discussing the relationship between metabolic syndrome components and IOP in patients. Pearson correlation coefficients, odds ratios and standardized betas were extracted from inclusive studies. Heterogeneity and publication bias were checked.

RESULTS

Of 295 articles, 10 met inclusion criteria and provided sufficient data for Meta-analysis. Results showed a significant positive relation between metabolic syndrome and IOP (Z=0.47, 95%CI: 0.15-0.79, P=0.005). The five components [waist circumference, hypertriglyceridemia, high blood pressure, high fasting glucose and low high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol] of metabolic syndrome all showed positive correlation with IOP except the low HDL-cholesterol which had no statistical significance. The pooled Z was 0.08 (95%CI: 0.04-0.12), 0.16 (95%CI: 0.11-0.21), 0.16 (95%CI: 0.10-0.22), 0.30 (95%CI: 0.20-0.40) and 0.12 (95%CI: 0.08-0.16), respectively. Begg's test and Egger's test showed no evidence of significant publication bias of this Meta-analysis.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that metabolic syndrome and its components are significantly associated with IOP, besides the HDL-cholesterol. This association may be used to control IOP by intervening the occurrence of metabolic syndrome.

Survey of ophthalmic anterior segment findings and intraocular pressure in 95 North American box turtles (Terrapene spp.)

OBJECTIVE

To describe the ophthalmic biomicroscopy findings and intraocular pressures (IOP) in a captive population of box turtles and to determine whether a relationship exists between body morphometrics or health status and IOP.

PROCEDURES

Hundred and three box turtles (69 Gulf coast, 24 three-toed, one ornate, one eastern, and eight unidentified) were triaged into three different color-coded groups: green (healthy), yellow (abnormal physical examination with no need for immediate care), and red (immediate care required). Both eyes were evaluated by rebound tonometry and slit-lamp biomicroscopy. Body weight and morphometric data were recorded.

RESULTS

Intraocular pressures measurements were available for 190 eyes, slit-lamp biomicroscopy was available for 170 eyes, and morphometric data were available for 81 turtles. IOP in Gulf coast turtles (138 eyes) was 6.7 ± 1.4 mmHg OU. IOP in three-toed turtles (48 eyes) was 8.3 ± 1.5 mmHg OU, which was significantly higher than in Gulf coast turtles (P < 0.0001). No significant IOP differences were noted between genders in both subspecies (P = 0.768). There was a correlation between IOP and health status in three-toed turtles only. There was a mild negative correlation between morphometrics and IOP in Gulf coast and three-toed turtles. Fifteen of 87 turtles had unilateral corneal or lenticular opacities; 3/87 had bilateral corneal or lenticular disease; and 3/87 had adnexal abnormalities.

CONCLUSIONS

Different subspecies of box turtles have different normal intraocular pressures as measured by rebound tonometry, which was influenced by the animals' health status in one subspecies. Some morphometric parameters were found to be associated with IOP. Box turtles are often affected with ophthalmic abnormalities of unknown clinical significance.

Age- and gender-specific association between intraocular pressure and metabolic variables in a Taiwanese population

BACKGROUND

To analyze the relationship between intraocular pressure, metabolic variables, and components of metabolic syndrome in different age and gender groups.

METHODS

We examined 10,491 Taiwanese adults aged 21 to 79 years and categorized according to gender and age. All participants underwent examinations, including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, blood pressure, intraocular pressure, and blood chemistry. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to evaluate the relationships between intraocular pressure and these variables as well as to determine the relative influence of each component of metabolic syndrome.

RESULTS

Intraocular pressure showed a significant reduction with aging in men but not in women. BMI had a positive association with intraocular pressure in young adults and middle-aged men. Systolic blood pressure was positively associated with intraocular pressure in most groups, whereas diastolic blood pressure was positively associated with intraocular pressure only in middle-aged and elderly men. Fasting blood sugar levels showed a significant association with high intraocular pressure in middle-aged and elderly adults. All participants with metabolic syndrome had higher intraocular pressure levels, and each component of metabolic syndrome had a distinct effect on the intraocular pressure, with blood pressure being the strongest predictor.

CONCLUSION

Elevated intraocular pressure is associated with a number of metabolic variables, and each component of metabolic syndrome has a distinct impact on the intraocular pressure in individual age- and gender-specific groups. The present results may allow internal medicine specialists to manage metabolic risk factors while considering possible ocular involvement and potential treatment interactions.

Relationship between optic nerve head and finger blood flow

PURPOSE

To examine the relationship between optic nerve head (ONH) and finger blood flow in subjects with and without a primary vascular dysregulation (PVD).

METHODS

ONH blood flow and finger blood flow was measured in 15 subjects with PVD and in 24 subjects without PVD. PVD was defined as being present if it was detected in patient history as well as by nailfold capillaromicroscopy. PVD was defined as being absent if the patient history for PVD was negative and the results of nailfold capillaromicroscopy were negative. Scanning laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) was used to measure ONH and finger blood flow. Finger temperature was measured in all subjects using a contact sensor.

RESULTS

ONH blood flow is significantly related to finger blood flow in subjects with PVD (p<0.01), but not in subjects without a PVD. Subjects with PVD had a significantly lower finger skin temperature in comparison to those without PVD (p<0.01)

CONCLUSIONS

The present study indicates a relationship between ONH and finger blood flow in subjects with PVD. This might be an indirect sign of a disturbed autoregulation of ocular blood flow in PVD subjects.