Myopic patients and heavy lifting

For people with myopia, heavy occupational lifting and being overweight appear to be risk factors for retinal detachment. Myopia, also referred to as nearsightedness, is when the eyes focus incorrectly to make distant objects appear blurred. This condition is a risk factor for retinal detachment, the separation of the retina, the light-sensitive membrane in the back of the eye, from its supporting layers. Researchers from Italy studied 61 patients with myopia and retinal detachment and a comparison group of 99 patients with myopia only. The participants completed a questionnaire regarding past and current occupational lifting tasks. The researchers created a lifting index to differentiate light from heavy lifting. Extensive analysis found that eye surgery, eye or head trauma, and severe myopia were all strong risk factors for retinal detachment. Further analysis showed that heavy lifting and high body mass index were risk factors as well. Compared with no lifting, heavy lifting increased the odds of retinal detachment by 4-fold. Similarly, overweight or obese patients had an increased risk of 7-fold compared with those with normal body weights. Retinal detachment is usually treated with laser surgery, which can repair holes or tears in the retina that usually occur before it is fully detached. Failure to reattach the retina results in blindness. The above findings provide preliminary evidence supporting the physiologically plausible hypothesis that heavy occupational lifting is a risk factor for retinal detachment in people with myopia. However, the researchers concluded that further studies are warranted to determine if heavy lifting and being overweight increase the risk of retinal detachment in people without myopia.

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