Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the association between refractive errors and common chronic diseases using blood biochemistry tests, and to investigate the associated modifiable risk factors, with the goal of informing and developing effective preventive strategies.
Methods: A total of 116,245 participants with refractometry at baseline enrolled in the UK Biobank were included in this prospective cohort study. Restricted cubic spline and Cox proportional hazards models were used to detect associations between refractive error, blood biochemistry tests, and common chronic diseases. Interaction effects on the additive scale and effect modification analysis were used to explore excess modifiable risk factors for disease prevention.
Results: Spherical equivalent significantly associated with vitamin D, sex hormone binding globulin, apolipoprotein A, blood glucose, and aspartate aminotransferase levels. Subjects with myopia demonstrated a 13% higher risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) incidence compared to those without myopia (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.13, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08-1.19) throughout a median follow-up of 9.12 years. Interaction analysis revealed 15% (95% CI = 9%-21%) of this risk was due to myopia-obesity interaction. However, active engagement in physical activity could potentially mitigate this risk (HR = 1.06, 95% CI = 0.93-1.20).
Conclusions: Refractive errors were associated with specific blood indicators, particularly noting the association between myopia and higher T2DM incidence in middle-aged and elderly populations. This effect interacts with obesity, and promoting physical activity among myopia individuals provides greater benefits in the prevention of T2DM compared to non-myopic individuals.