Fatty liver is a fairly common condition and is often detected during regular health check-ups. Many people believe that this is just a liver problem and can be improved by diet or exercise. However, this condition can also reflect metabolic disorders in the body and affect many other organs, including the eyes.
According to Dr. Niteen Dedhia - Medical Director at Ojas Maxivision Eye Hospital (India), fatty liver may be a sign that the retina is under pressure. The retina is a thin tissue layer located behind the eye, playing an important role in receiving light and transmitting visual signals to the brain.
How does fatty liver affect the retina?
The retina is one of the tissues with the strongest metabolic activity in the body. This part depends on the system of small blood vessels to provide oxygen and nutrients to visual cells.
According to Dr. Dedhia, when fatty liver develops, this condition is often associated with metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance, inflammation and lipid imbalance. These changes can affect the vascular system throughout the body, including small blood vessels that nourish the retina.
Over time, these blood vessels can be damaged, increasing the risk of retinal diseases, including macular degeneration.
Why is the disease often difficult to detect early?
Fatty liver and retinal damage often progress silently. Many people do not notice obvious symptoms in the early stages. When signs such as blurred vision, difficulty reading small letters, or distorted images appear, retinal damage may have occurred.
Therefore, experts recommend that people with fatty liver should have regular eye check-ups, especially those over 40 years old or with risk factors such as obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure.
How to protect eye health
Early detection plays an important role in preventing vision damage. Methods such as dilated pupil retina examination, retinograph or retinograph can detect early changes.
In addition, maintaining a healthy diet, regular exercise, controlling blood sugar, blood pressure and weight also helps reduce the risk of retinal damage and protect vision for a long time.
