Purpose: To examine the associations of various parameters of obesity including adiposity with intraocular pressure (IOP) using nationally representative data of South Korean adults.
Material and methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed the data from the 2008-2010 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A total of 15,271 subjects (6600 men and 8671 women) participated. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), total body fat mass, and total and regional body fat percentage were measured as parameters of obesity.
Results: IOP showed positive linear associations with BMI, WC, total fat mass, and total and regional body fat percentages in men, and with BMI, WC, total fat mass, and trunk fat percentage in women after adjusting for confounding variables. Men with higher BMI, WC, total fat mass, and total and regional body fat percentages exhibited increasing trends in odd ratios for having IOP ≥ 18 mmHg after adjusting for all confounding factors (p for trend <0.001 for BMI and total fat mass; p for trend = 0.038 for WC; 0.003 for total body fat percentage; 0.002 for trunk fat percentage; 0.004 for leg fat percentage). However, only BMI showed a significantly increasing trend in the risk of IOP ≥18 mmHg in women.
Conclusions: In addition to BMI, WC and total fat mass, total and regional body fat percentage in men and trunk fat percentage in women are positively associated with IOP. Increased BMI, WC, and total and regional body fat are positively associated with a risk of higher IOP (IOP ≥18 mmHg), especially in Korean men.
Keywords: Adiposity; body mass index; intraocular pressure; obesity; waist circumference.