System Maintenance Notice

Please note that maintenance work is scheduled between 4 AM and 5 AM - CET. During this time, you may experience reduced performance. Thanks for your patience.

Publications

Journal Article Ahead of print

PubMed: 42775727 DOI: 10.1080/09286586.2026.2734829

Association Between High Myopia and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Adolescents.

Ophthalmic Epidemiol

Authors: Ting-Han Guo, Xing-Xuan Dong, Dan-Lin Li, Andrzej Grzybowski, Carla Lanca, Yu Qin, Ya-Jie Zheng, Gang Liang, Chen-Wei Pan

Affiliations

  • School of Public Health, Suzhou Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
  • Institute for Research in Ophthalmology, Foundation for Ophthalmology Development, Poznan, Poland.
  • Department of Ophthalmology, University of Warmia and Mazury, Olsztyn, Poland.
  • Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde de Lisboa (ESTeSL), Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
  • Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC), Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
  • Department of Ophthalmology, The Affiliated Hospital of Yunnan University, Kunming, China.

Abstract

PURPOSE

To investigate the association between high myopia and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in adolescents and to explore potential metabolic mechanisms.

METHODS

A total of 550 freshmen from Dali University were included. Data on refractive status, questionnaires, and serum metabolomics were collected. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the independent association between high myopia and NAFLD. Mediation analysis was performed to explore potential mediating metabolites, and enrichment analysis was utilized to explore key metabolic pathways.

RESULTS

The prevalence of NAFLD in the study population was 11.3%. High myopia was associated with higher odds of NAFLD (OR = 2.81, 95% CI: 1.34-5.86). Mediation analysis suggested 15 metabolites as potential mediators, with L-phenylalanine (mediating effect: 23.0%) and L-leucine (mediating effect: 16.7%) showing the largest effects. Enrichment analysis revealed that these key metabolites were primarily enriched in pathways such as aromatic and branched-chain amino acid metabolism, lysine degradation, and pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis.

CONCLUSION

High myopia was associated with increased odds of NAFLD in adolescents, and this relationship may be partially mediated by abnormalities in amino acid and energy metabolism, suggesting potential metabolic links between ocular and hepatic conditions.

MeSH

Liver Diseases, Ophthalmology, Amino Acids, Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Public Health, Phenylalanine, Liver, Alcoholics, Leucine, Adolescent, Metabolomics, Fatty Liver, Myopia, Fatty Liver, Alcoholic