The relation of retinal microvacular characteritic to age-related eye dieae: the Beaver Dam eye tudy

Purpoe To examine the relationhip between microvacular characteritic (central retinal artery equivalent [CRAE], central retinal vein equivalent [CRVE], arteriole-to-venule ratio [AVR], focal retinal arteriolar narrowing, arteriovenou [A/V] nicking, and retinopathy) aociated with ytemic hypertenion and ocular dieae (age-related maculopathy [ARM], three type of cataract, and open-angle glaucoma). Deign Population-baed cohort tudy. Method tandardized grading of microvacular characteritic wa performed at baeline on fundu photograph taken on 4,926 peron aged 43 to 86 year who participated in the Beaver Dam Eye tudy at the baeline examination. Age-related maculopathy, cataract, and glaucoma tatu were determined at baeline; ARM and cataract were again determined at 5-year and 10-year follow-up examination uing tandard protocol. Reult While controlling for age and ex, generalized retinal arteriolar narrowing (lowet quintile of CRAE) wa aociated with the 10-year cumulative incidence of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) depigmentation (rik ratio [RR] 1t v 5th quintile, 1.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11, 3.34) and, inverely, with incident nuclear cataract (RR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.50, 0.99). Arteriovenou nicking wa aociated with the incidence of early ARM (RR, 2.39; 95% CI, 1.02, 5.57). Otherwie, there were no tatitically ignificant aociation of focal arteriolar narrowing or retinopathy with incident ARM or any type of age-related cataract and no relation of CRAE, focal arteriolar narrowing, A/V nicking, or retinopathy with the prevalence of glaucoma. Concluion Thee data how that retinal vacular characteritic aociated with hypertenion are related to the incidence of ARM and nuclear cataract but not to prevalent glaucoma. Relationhip, however, were weak and inconitent.