Wayne State University
Neurology

Author Of 1 Presentation

Imaging Late Breaking Abstracts

LB1202 - The effects of obesity on retinal structures in African American and Caucasian relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis patients (ID 2043)

Speakers
Presentation Number
LB1202
Presentation Topic
Imaging

Abstract

Background

It has been investigated that obesity may impact RRMS disease severity. It has been well established that retinal layers thin over time in RRMS, and that AA patients tend to experience a more aggressive disease course than CA patients. Optical coherence tomography was utilized to quantify retinal thickness and volume.

Objectives

To assess the effect of obesity on retinal structures between African American (AA) and Caucasian (CA) patients with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS).

Methods

One hundred thirty-six RRMS patients were included in this single-center retrospective study and split into two groups: 67 obese (BMI≥30, 40 AA, 27 CA, mean BMI±SD: 36.7±5.8) and 69 non-obese (BMI˂30, 23 AA, 46 CA, mean BMI±SD: 24.0±3.1). An OCT was performed to quantify the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) thickness and volumetric macular scans. The pRNFL was segmented into quadrant thickness: superior (S), inferior (I), temporal (T), and nasal (N). Automated intra-retinal segmentation was performed to obtain the following macular volumes: total macular (TMV), papillomacular bundle (PMB), retinal nerve fiber (RNFL), ganglion cell + inner plexiform (GCIP), inner nuclear (INL), outer plexiform (OPL), and outer nuclear (ONL) layers. A generalized linear model with OCT parameters as dependent variables and BMI grouping as the independent variable was used for analysis with age and disease duration as covariates (SPSS v26).

Results

There was a significant direct correlation between obesity and thickness in the T quadrant of the pRNFL (p=0.044), and also the INL (p=0.034) and RNFL (p=0.009) volumes across all patients. AA patients in the obese group had significantly lower measures of T (p=0.033), N (p=0.044), TMV (p=0.003), RNFL (p=0.013), OPL (p=0.050), ONL (p=0.026), and GCIP (p=0.038) compared to obese CA patients. Among non-obese patients, the ONL was significantly lower in AA compared to CA patients (p<0.001).

Conclusions

Our data suggests a correlation between obesity and increased retinal thinning, specifically in the T region of the pRNFL, and the INL and RNFL volumes. While obesity affects retinal integrity in all patients, our data also suggests the impact is more prominent in AA patients than CA patients. Further investigations should be conducted regarding the impact of other health factors on RRMS across racial groups to better understand how to monitor disease course in patients of different backgrounds.

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