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  • Systematic Review
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Epidemiology and Population Health

Association of anthropometric parameter with myopia in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis

International Journal of Obesity volume 49, pages 2395–2405 (2025)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective

To systematically evaluate the association between anthropometric parameter and myopia in children and adolescents.

Methods

PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, Embase, CNKI, CBM, WanFang Data, and VIP databases were searched from inception to June, 2025. We collected cross-sectional studies on the association between anthropometric parameter and myopia in children and adolescents aged 0-25 years, including body mass index (BMI) and weight-adjusted waist index (WWI). After independently screening the literature, extracting the data and evaluating the risk of bias in the included studies by 2 researchers, meta-analysis was performed using Stata 18.0 software.

Results

A total of 18 cross-sectional studies were included, from which 1,505,099 participants were analyzed. Meta-analysis results suggested a positive relationship between anthropometric parameters and myopia. The pooled OR for overweight was 1.27 (95%CI: 1.08 ~ 1.51; I2 = 81.6%; P < 0.001). After excluding outliers, the pooled OR for overweight was 1.14 (95% CI: 1.13 ~ 1.15; I2 = 0.0%; P = 0.444). The pooled OR for obesity was 1.25 (95%CI: 1.12 ~ 1.39; I2 = 88.3%; P < 0.001). The results demonstrated inconsistency when subgroup analyses were performed based on age, geographic regions, visual acuity measurement methods, sample characteristics, whether covariates were adjusted in the original data, and whether one of 3 main confounders (parental myopia, outdoor time, or near work) was controlled. Results of meta-regression analysis showed that the publication year was not a source of heterogeneity across overweight, obesity and BMI/WWI groups. Subgroup evaluation revealed that a pooled value was 1.08 (95%CI: 1.00 ~ 1.18; I2 = 88.9%; P < 0.001) for BMI in BMI/WWI group. The results of Egger’s test also suggested that there was no significant publication bias in overweight, obesity, and BMI/WWI groups, respectively.

Conclusions

Our findings support that anthropometric parameter was significantly associated with myopia in children and adolescents. However, given the limitations of the included cross-sectional studies, prospective studies are warranted to further investigate this issue.

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Fig. 1: Flow chart of literature retrieval and screening process.
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4: Sensitivity analysis for the association between anthropometric parameter and myopia in children and adolescents.
Fig. 5: Egger’s test for the association between anthropometric parameter and myopia in children and adolescents.
Fig. 6

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Data availability

The code and data that support the findings of this study were included in this published article.

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Funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82273653), the Research Project of Center for Big Data and Population Health, Institute of Health and Medicine, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center (JKS2023011) and the Cultivation Program for Scientific and Technological Talents of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University (2024PY01).

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Zhong Guan, Yuzhu Luo.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230601, China

    Zhong Guan, Yuzhu Luo, Heting Liu & Shuman Tao

  2. MOE Key Laboratory of Population Health Across Life Cycle / Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Environment and Population Health across the Life Course / NHC Key Laboratory of Study on Abnormal Gametes and Reproductive Tract, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, China

    Shuman Tao

  3. Center for Big Data and Population Health, Institute of Health and Medicine, Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, Hefei, 230032, China

    Shuman Tao

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Contributions

Dr Shuman Tao had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. Concept and design: Shuman Tao. Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: Zhong Guan. Drafting of the manuscript: Zhong Guan. Literature screening: Zhong Guan, Yuzhu Luo, Heting Liu. Critical review of the manuscript for important intellectual content: Shuman Tao. Obtained funding: Shuman Tao. Supervision: Shuman Tao.

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Correspondence to Shuman Tao.

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All methods in this study were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations. An ethics statement or informed consent of the study participants was not applicable as the study used only aggregated data from previously published literature which had obtained ethical approval and informed consent and did not involve direct interaction with human participants or the collection of primary data.

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Guan, Z., Luo, Y., Liu, H. et al. Association of anthropometric parameter with myopia in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Obes 49, 2395–2405 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-025-01900-8

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