Adults who had amblyopia as children are at an elevated risk of hypertension, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and heart attack in adulthood, according to a study in
eClinicalMedicine.1
“We emphasise that our research does not show a causal relationship between amblyopia and ill health in adulthood,” says first author, Dr. Siegfried Wagner, in a related press release. “Our research means that the ‘average’ adult who had amblyopia as a child is more likely to develop these disorders than the ‘average’ adult who did not have amblyopia. The findings don’t mean that every child with amblyopia will inevitably develop cardiometabolic disorders in adult life.”
The cross-sectional and longitudinal study of 126,399 United Kingdom Biobank participants ages 40 to 69 revealed that those with persisting amblyopia (n = 2647) had 29% higher odds of developing diabetes, 25% higher odds of having hypertension, and 16% higher odds of having obesity, according to a press release on the study. Additionally, these individuals were at increased risk of heart attack – even when other risk factors for these conditions, such as other disease, and ethnicity were accounted for.
1. EClinicalMedicine. 2024:70:102493.
For the full study, visit https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(24)00072-5/fulltext.
