Retinal Vascular Caliber, Diabetes, and Retinopathy

doi:10.1016/j.ajo.2007.01.034

American Journal of Ophthalmology

Volume 143, Issue 6, June 2007, Pages 1024-1026

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajo.2007.01.034 Get rights and content

Purpose

To assess the relationship of retinal vessel caliber with diabetes and diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Design

Population-based cross-sectional analysis of the Blue Mountains Eye Study, Australia (n = 3,654, age ≥49 years).

Methods

Diabetes was defined as physician-diagnosed or fasting blood glucose ≥ 7.0 mmol/l; impaired fasting glucose as fasting glucose 6.1 to 6.9 mmol/l. DR was graded from retinal photographs. Retinal vessel caliber was measured from digitized images.

Results

After controlling for age, gender, blood pressure, and other factors, mean retinal venular caliber was significantly wider in participants with moderate-severe nonproliferative DR (severe 262.7 μm; moderate 236.7 μm) than in nondiabetic participants (221.9 μm) or participants with diabetes but no DR (221.2 μm) (P < .0001). Mean retinal arteriolar caliber was significantly wider in participants with diabetes (193.5 μm) than in nondiabetic participants (190.2 μm) (P < .01).

Conclusions

Increasing severity of DR in persons with diabetes is associated with widening of retinal venular caliber.

References (7)

R. Klein et al.
Retinal vascular abnormalities in persons with type 1 diabetes: the Wisconsin Epidemiologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy: XVIII
Ophthalmology
(2003)
E. Alibrahim et al.
Retinal vascular caliber and risk of retinopathy in young patients with type 1 diabetes
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R. Klein et al.
The relation of retinal vessel caliber to the incidence and progression of diabetic retinopathy: XIX: the Wisconsin Epidemiologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy
Arch Ophthalmol
(2004)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

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The association of retinal vessel diameters with type 2 diabetes are complex and the emerging patterns from the large cohort studies appear heterogeneous. Type 2 diabetes has been associated with both retinal arteriolar narrowing (Nguyen et al., 2008a; Wong et al., 2002b, 2005) and widening (Kifley et al., 2007; Tikellis et al., 2007) as well as venular widening (Ikram et al., 2006c; Nguyen et al., 2008b) in population-based cohort studies. Based solely on this evidence, the pattern of the retinal vessel phenotype associated with diabetes appear to be inconclusive.
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Brief reportRetinal Vascular Caliber, Diabetes, and Retinopathy

Purpose

Design

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology

The relation of retinal vessel caliber to the incidence and progression of diabetic retinopathy: XIX: the Wisconsin Epidemiologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy

Arch Ophthalmol

Brief report
Retinal Vascular Caliber, Diabetes, and Retinopathy