Evaluation of the impact of childhood obesity on retrobulbar hemodynamics and retinal microvasculature

Objective To evaluate changes in retrobulbar ocular blood flow parameters by using Colour Doppler Imaging (CDI) and changes in foveal microvasculature by using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA) in pediatric obese patients and to compare them with a group of healthy children. Methods Children diagnosed with obesity without hypertension and diabetes (39 subjects, obese group) and age-matched healthy controls (26 subjects, control group) underwent CDI and OCTA imaging. Peak systolic velocity, end-diastolic velocity and resistivity index from ophthalmic, central retinal and posterior ciliary arteries on CDI; superficial and deep capillary plexus vascular density and foveal avascular zone area on OCTA imaging were obtained in each group. Central foveal and subfoveal choroidal thicknesses were also measured. CDI and OCTA parameters were compared between two groups. Results Peak systolic and end-diastolic velocities were found to be significantly lower in obese children than in controls in all three examined arteries (p < 0.05). Resistivity index values were similar between the groups. OCTA imaging did not reveal significant changes in superficial and deep capillary plexus vascular densities and foveal avascular zone area across analysed retinal regions between the groups. Subfoveal choroid was thicker in obese group than in control group (325.89 ± 52.77 µm vs. 304.52 ± 21.76 µm, p = 0.04). Conclusion An apparent decrease was present in retrobulbar hemodynamics in obese children. This arises the possibility of early ocular macrovascular compromise rather than retinal microvascular impairment in childhood obesity.