How does being Overweight Affect the Choroid in Children?

Objective: The study aimed to compare the effect of overweight on choroidal thickness (CT) and choroidal vascular index (CVI) in children. Materials and Methods: This study included forty-four overweight and obese children and 35 children with normal weight. After a complete ophthalmological examination of the participants, macula and choroidal images were taken with optical coherence tomography. The fovea’s central macular thickness, subfoveal, 1000-µm nasal, and 1000-µm temporal CT were measured. Total choroidal area (TCA), luminal area (LA), and stromal area (SA) were measured using the binarization method. Results: The mean body mass index (BMI) value of the overweight group was 27.70±1.55. The obese group was 35.73±3.84, and the control group was 21.56±1.44. Subfoveal CT, TCA, and SA values significantly differed between the groups (p=0.019, p=0.016, p=0.028, respectively). A significant positive correlation existed between BMI and subfoveal CT, TCA, and SA (r=0.264, p=0.019; r=0.233, p=0.038; r=0.231, p=0.041, respectively). Conclusions: The obese group had significantly higher subfoveal CT, TCA, and SA values than the control group, and a significant positive correlation was found between BMI and subfoveal CT, TCA, and SA.