Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Nov 4;13(11):26.
doi: 10.1167/tvst.13.11.26.

Associations of Metabolically Healthy Obesity and Retinal Age Gap

Xiaomin Zeng  1 , Ruiye Chen  2   3 , Gabriella Bulloch  2   3 , Qingsheng Peng  4   5 , Ching-Yu Cheng  4   5 , Mingguang He  1   2   3   6   7   8 , Honghua Yu  1 , Zhuoting Zhu  1   2   3
Affiliations

Associations of Metabolically Healthy Obesity and Retinal Age Gap

Xiaomin Zeng et al. Transl Vis Sci Technol. .

Abstract

Purpose: We investigated the association between metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) and retinal age gap and explored potential sex differences in this association.

Methods: This study included 30,335 participants from the UK Biobank. Body mass index (BMI) was classified into normal weight, overweight, and obesity. Metabolic health (MH) was defined as meeting the following criteria: systolic blood pressure of <130 mm Hg, no antihypertensive drugs, waist-to-hip ratio of <0.95 for women or 1.03 for men, and the absence of diabetes. Participants were categorized as MH normal weight (MHN), MH overweight (MHOW), MHO, metabolically unhealthy normal weight, metabolically unhealthy (MU) overweight, and MU obesity. Retinal age gap was defined as the difference between retinal age and chronological age. Linear regression models were used to investigate the association of metabolic phenotypes of obesity with retinal age gap.

Results: Compared with MHN, individuals with MHOW (β, 0.17; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.01-0.32; P = 0.039) and MHO (β, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.02-0.44; P = 0.031) were associated with increased retinal age gap. Furthermore, individuals classified as metabolic unhealthy were also associated with higher retinal age gap, irrespective of body mass index categories (β for MU normal weight, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.08-0.38; P = 0.003; β for MU overweight: 0.31; 95% CI, 0.18-0.45; P < 0.001; β for MU obesity, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.36-0.65; P < 0.001). No significant sex difference was observed in the association between metabolic phenotypes of obesity and retinal age gap (all P for interaction > 0.05).

Conclusions: MHOW and MHO were associated significantly with an increased retinal age gap compared with MHN individuals. Weight management should be recommended for individuals who are overweight or obese, even in the absence of metabolic unhealth.

Translational relevance: Retinal age gap provides a simple tool for identifying early health risks for MHOW and MHO individuals.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: X. Zeng, None; R. Chen, None; G. Bulloch, None; Q. Peng, None; C.-Y. Cheng, None; M. He, None; H. Yu, None; Z. Zhu, None

Figures

Figure.
Figure.
Flow chart distribution of study population.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Blüher M. Obesity: global epidemiology and pathogenesis. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2019; 15(5): 288–298, doi:10.1038/s41574-019-0176-8. - DOI - PubMed
    1. WHO Consultation on Obesity (1999: Geneva, Switzerland) & World Health Organization. Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. Report of a WHO consultation. World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser. 2000; 894: i–xii, 1–253. - PubMed
    1. Tchkonia T, Thomou T, Zhu Y, et al. .. Mechanisms and metabolic implications of regional differences among fat depots. Cell Metab. 2013; 17(5): 644–656, doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2013.03.008. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Goossens GH. The metabolic phenotype in obesity: fat mass, body fat distribution, and adipose tissue function. Obes Facts. 2017; 10(3): 207–215, doi:10.1159/000471488. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Piché ME, Tchernof A, Després JP.. Obesity phenotypes, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Circ Res. 2020; 126(11): 1477–1500, doi:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.120.316101. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types