Original articleAssociations of Birth Weight With Ocular Biometry, Refraction, and Glaucomatous Endophenotypes: The Australian Twins Eye Study
Section snippets
Study Population
The Australian Twins Eye Study (ATES), involving 2235 twins and nontwin siblings, was designed to investigate the relative influence of genetic and environmental factors on a variety of ocular traits related to glaucoma. The study design and details of sample recruitment are described elsewhere.8 In brief, the study population comprising predominantly Caucasian twins were ascertained from the Tasmanian Infant Health Study (TIHS) cohort,9 the Brisbane Adolescent Twin Study,6, 10 and the
Results
Selected characteristics including demographic information, birth parameters, and anthropometric measures of the study sample stratified by zygosity are shown in Table 1. The median age of the whole study sample was 17 years (range, 5-80 years). MZ twins (n = 616; 308 pairs) were more likely to be female and older, and a higher proportion were of low birth weight, small for gestational age, and premature than DZ twins (n = 882; 441 pairs). MZ and DZ twins had the same median birth length of 47
Discussion
In this cohort comprising 308 MZ and 441 DZ twin pairs who participated in the ATES, we showed that twins with lower birth weight tended to have shorter axial length and more steeply curved corneas. These associations remained evident even in within-pair assessment of MZ twins, after adjusting for age, gender, gestational age, and other relevant confounders. The between-pair effect of the associations between lower birth weight and shorter axial length and more curved corneas were also
Cong Sun, MD, PhD, is currently a research fellow based at Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia. She received her medical degree from Nanjing University, following by a residency in ophthalmology. Dr Sun completed her MPH and then PhD at the University of Melbourne in 2010. Her PhD examined the genetic and environmental determinants of a novel marker for microvascular changes associated with systemic vascular diseases. Her research interests extend to cardiovascular
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Cited by (25)
Association of birth weight with corneal aberrations in adulthood – Results from a population-based study
2023, Journal of OptometryCitation Excerpt :Our data are additionally restricted because self-reported birth weight data were not validated by review of medical records for all participants. In order to ensure a high validity of self-reported birth weight data in our analyses we asked every study participant at study invitation to review personal records or family albums for recorded birth weight data and previous authors found a high reliability of self-reported birth weight10 thus we assume that this is a valid parameter in our study. In addition, we compared self-reported birth weight of a subsample of participants (n = 86) born in the UMCM.
The relationship of ocular geometry with refractive error in normal and low birth weight adults
2021, Journal of OptometryCitation Excerpt :They found in low birth weight children a steeper corneal curvature27,28 and smaller axial length.27 In congruence, in our recent report18 and data of Sun and colleagues of the Australian Twin Study29 it was demonstrated that steeper corneal shape and smaller axial length in former low birth weight individuals seem to persist until adulthood. In contrast to our results, no association between low birth weight and refraction was reported in a twin study in participants aged from 18 to 86 years30 and in another study in participants aged 5–80 years.29
Ocular geometry in adults born small, appropriate or large for gestational age at term
2024, Acta OphthalmologicaCorneal Aberrations and Thickness in Adults Born Small, Appropriate, or Large for Gestational Age at Term
2022, Journal of Clinical Medicine
Cong Sun, MD, PhD, is currently a research fellow based at Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia. She received her medical degree from Nanjing University, following by a residency in ophthalmology. Dr Sun completed her MPH and then PhD at the University of Melbourne in 2010. Her PhD examined the genetic and environmental determinants of a novel marker for microvascular changes associated with systemic vascular diseases. Her research interests extend to cardiovascular epidemiology.
Professor Mackey has extensively studied large pedigrees with Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy. Creating one of the world's largest glaucoma biobanks, his Glaucoma Inheritance Study in Tasmania has helped define phenotype-genotype correlations in myocilin and other glaucoma genes. The Twins Eye Study in Tasmania and Brisbane is investigating the genetic environmental basis on ocular biometry related to glaucoma and myopia. He also leads the Norfolk Island Eye Study and the Western Australian Raine Eye Health Study.
Supplemental Material available at AJO.com.