Sex-Specific Effect of Obesity on Epiblepharon in Different Age Groups: A Case-Control Study

Jin-Jhe Wang, Chien-Hsiung Lai, Ting-Yu Kuo, Meng-Hung Lin, Yao-Hsu Yang and Chau-Yin Chen ()
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Jin-Jhe Wang: Department of Ophthalmology, Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 61363, Taiwan
Chien-Hsiung Lai: Department of Ophthalmology, Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 61363, Taiwan
Ting-Yu Kuo: Health Information and Epidemiology Laboratory, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 61363, Taiwan
Meng-Hung Lin: Health Information and Epidemiology Laboratory, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 61363, Taiwan
Yao-Hsu Yang: School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 33302, Taiwan
Chau-Yin Chen: Department of Ophthalmology, Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 61363, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 19, 1-9

Abstract: Obesity has been regarded as a risk factor for several ocular diseases. This study aims to investigate the age- and sex-specific relationship between epiblepharon and obesity in children. A retrospective case–control study was conducted using the Chang Gung Research Database. Children ≤ 18 years of age with epiblepharon were identified from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2019. Children were classified into three groups: normal, overweight and obese groups. A total of 513 patients and 1026 controls (57.7% males) aged 1 to 18 matched by sex and age were included in the analysis. The median body mass index (BMI) of children with epiblepharon was significantly higher than that of children without epiblepharon ( p < 0.001). In the subgroup analysis, among boys aged 4 to 9 years, the BMI in boys with epiblepharon was significantly higher than that in boys without epiblepharon ( p < 0.05) and the risk of epiblepahron in overweight/obese boys was significantly higher than in non-overweight boys (OR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.07–2.82 for age 4 to 6; OR = 3.06, 95% CI = 1.56–6.03 for age 7 to 9). On the other hand, among girls aged 13 to 18 years, the BMI in adolescent girls with epiblepharon was significantly higher than that in the control group ( p < 0.05) and overweight/obese girls had a statistically higher risk of persistent epiblepharon than non-overweight girls (OR = 3.70, 95% CI = 1.38–9.97). The association between obesity and epiblepharon varies in strength according to age in a sex-specific manner.

Keywords: epiblepharon; body mass index; obesity; overweight; sex-specific difference (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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