Abstract
Purpose :
Increasing evidence suggests that circadian rhythms modulate the development of refractive errors. This retrospective, observational cross-sectional study aimed to uncover the associations between circadian rhythms and refractive errors by analysing the chronotype or morning-evening preference of people with myopia and hyperopia.
Methods :
23,112 participants of the Estonian Biobank who had completed the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire (MCTQ) before the age of 70 were included in the analysis (35% male, aged between 17-69, median age 39 years). Chronotype was defined as the mid-point of sleep on non-working days adjusted for sleep deficit on workdays (MSFsc). The participants’ electronic health records were enquired for the diagnoses of myopia and hyperopia (ICD-10 codes H52.1 and H52.0, respectively). The dataset was filtered for participants who had been diagnosed with both refractive errors. Only those who had received one of these diagnoses on at least two separate occasions were considered as having the corresponding refractive error. A logistic regression model was fitted with the outcome as myopia or hyperopia; and MSFsc, age, sex, and time people reported to spend outdoors as covariates.
Results :
4,951 participants with myopia and 2,865 with hyperopia were identified in the study population. The median MSFsc for those diagnosed with myopia was 3.9 (interquartile range, IQR 3.2–4.7), for those with hyperopia 3.3 (IQR 2.6–3.9) and those without myopia or hyperopia 3.7 (IQR 3.0–4.4). After adjusting for age, sex and time people reported spending outdoors, those with higher MSFsc (later chronotype) were more likely to be myopes (OR = 1.16, 95% CI 1.12–1.19, p = 1.53E-18). Interestingly, higher MSFsc was also positively associated with hyperopia (OR = 1.07, 95% CI 1.02–1.12, p = 0.004).
Conclusions :
We demonstrate that later chronotype is positively associated with myopia and hyperopia. With access to the genomic information of the Estonian Biobank participants, further genomic analyses will reveal the potential molecular basis for these associations.
This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.