Obesity contributes to multiple systemic disorders; however, extensive discussion regarding obesity and open-angle glaucoma (OAG) remains limited, and conclusions in the existing literature diverge. This study aims to analyze the risk of OAG among obese adults in Taiwan. In this study, adults (aged ≥18 years) with a diagnostic code of obesity or morbid obesity registered in the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database (LHID) 2000 and LHID2005 from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2010 were included. All adults were traced until the diagnosis of OAG, the occurrence of death, or 31 December 2013. Risk of OAG was significantly higher in obese adults than in non-obese adults after multivariable adjustment (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR): 1.43 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11–1.84)/aHR: 1.54 (95% CI 1.23–1.94) in the LHID2000/LHID2005). Both databases demonstrated that young obese adults (aged ≤40 years) had a remarkably increased risk of OAG compared with young non-obese adults (aHR 3.08 (95% CI 1.82–5.21)/aHR 3.81 (95% CI 2.26–6.42) in the LHID2000/LHID2005). This two-database matched-cohort study suggests that obese adults have an increased risk of OAG. In young adults, in particular, obesity could be a potential risk factor of OAG.

Pediatricians are trained to provide non-surgical medical care to children. Improvements in medical treatments and surgical techniques have extended the survival of children with congenital diseases and chronic illnesses. Consequently, pediatricians may provide continuous medical service to their patients into adulthood. Meanwhile, as Taiwan’s birth rate has fallen to one of the lowest in the world, pediatricians are encountering growing competition. As a source of continued revenue, pediatricians could also provide medical care to adults with common diseases and patients with adult-onset chronic diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the pattern of adult ambulatory visits to pediatric clinics recorded by Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) system during 2000 to 2011. From 1/500 sampling datasets, we found that adult ambulatory visits to pediatric clinics rose steadily and statistically significantly from 16% of total visits to pediatric clinics in 2000 to 32% in 2011. Analysis of the diagnoses associated with adult ambulatory visits to pediatric clinics indicated that the most common diagnoses for such patients at academic medical centers were chronic illnesses, including epilepsy, cardiac and circulatory congenital anomalies, and diabetes. Meanwhile, at physician clinics, airway infections/diseases and gastroenteritis were the most common diagnoses. In an era of low birth rates, our findings contribute to an evidence-based discussion and provide new information that may assist in healthcare policymaking.