Independent and interactive effects of eye rubbing and atopy on keratoconus

• Published in: Frontiers in immunology Vol. 13; p. 999435
• Main Authors: Yang, Kaili, Li, Dan, Xu, Liyan, Pang, Chenjiu, Zhao, Dongqing, Ren, Shengwei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A 29.09.2022
• Subjects: additive interaction; atopy; eye rubbing; Immunology; keratoconus; multiplicative interaction
• ISSN: 1664-3224; 1664-3224
• DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.999435

Purpose To evaluate the independent and interactive effects of eye rubbing and atopy on keratoconus (KC) in central China. Methods A total of 330 KC patients and 330 controls were recruited in the case-control study. Eye rubbing and history of atopy were recorded through face-to-face interviews. The association between KC and eye rubbing, atopy, interactive effects of eye rubbing and atopy were analyzed by logistic regression, and the odds ratios ( OR ), relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI), attributable proportion (AP), synergy (S) index, and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI ) were calculated. Results A total of 228 patients (69.09%) had an eye rubbing history, and 53 (16.06%) had an atopy history in the KC group, which were both higher than that in the control group (p<0.001). Eye rubbing and atopy were positively associated with KC in multivariate analysis, with ORs (95% CIs) of 15.11 (10.02, 22.80) and 5.30 (2.59, 10.84), respectively. Compared to non-eye rubbing and non-atopy eyes, the risk for eye rubbing coexisted with atopy was 52.31 (12.25, 223.35). No significant associations were found between KC and multiplicative interaction (p=0.608). The RERI, AP, and S values were 32.89 (-43.35, 109.14), 0.63 (0.05, 1.21), and 2.79 (0.56, 13.96), respectively, with no significant association between additive interaction and KC. No significant associations were found between eye rubbing, atopy and the severity of KC (p>0.05). Conclusion Eye rubbing and atopy were separately positively associated with KC, and there was a strong impact of coexistent eye rubbing and atopy on KC in China. Further multi-center and cohort study need to be conducted to explore the role of eye rubbing and atopy in the occurrence and development of KC.