ArticleTranslational vision science & technology2026
Obesity and Keratoconus: A Mediation Study Based on the Chinese Keratoconus Cohort.
Article in Translational vision science & technology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Purpose: Growing evidence indicates a strong association between obesity and keratoconus (KC), although the potential mediating factors remain largely unknown. This study aimed to explore the potential pathways through which corneal biomechanical and topographic parameters might link obesity and KC using structural equation modeling (SEM). Methods: This case-control study included 759 participants (363 patients with KC and 396 controls) from the Chinese Keratoconus (CKC) Cohort Study. Associations among body mass index (BMI), corneal biomechanical parameters, topographic parameters, and KC were analyzed using generalized linear regression models. SEM was used to construct latent variables for corneal biomechanical and topographic parameters. Three mediation models (single, parallel multiple, and serial multiple mediation) were used to examine the mediating roles of these parameters in the association between BMI and KC. Results: After adjusting for confounders, the odds ratio (OR) for BMI and KC was 1.14 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.07-1.22). All corneal biomechanical and topographic parameters showed significant associations with KC (P < 0.05). In the single mediation model, the indirect effect of corneal biomechanical parameters was 0.023 (95% CI = 0.002-0.045), whereas that of topographic parameters was 0.049 (95% CI = 0.023-0.073). The parallel multiple mediation model yielded a total indirect effect of 0.033 (95% CI = 0.013-0.053), with significant pathways through corneal biomechanical parameters (effect = 0.011, 95% CI = 0.000-0.022, 17.2% of total effect) and topographic parameters (effect = 0.022, 95% CI = 0.010-0.038, 35.4% of total effect). A serial mediation pathway was also identified, in which BMI correlated with corneal biomechanical parameters, which subsequently linked to topographic parameters and then KC (effect = 0.021, 95% CI = 0.002-0.039, 32.3% of total effect). Conclusions: Higher BMI was associated with KC. The association between BMI and KC may be partially explained by alterations in corneal biomechanical and topographic parameters, providing a statistical model for understanding potential underlying links in the disease. Translational Relevance: For patients with obesity, KC-related screening should be emphasized, and health management for patients with KC and obesity should be strengthened in clinical practice.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.