Retinal vessel diameters in a Japanese population: the Locomotive Syndrome and Health Outcome in Aizu Cohort Study

Abstract

Purpose: To describe the relationship between retinal vascular calibre and cardiovascular risk factors in a Japanese population. Methods: The Locomotive Syndrome and Health Outcome in Aizu Cohort Study is a population-based, cross-sectional survey that included 2346 persons (56.1% of the eligible population) aged 40 to 74 years old. Retinal vascular calibre was measured from digital retinal photographs using a validated standardized protocol. Data on major cardiovascular risk factors were collected from all participants. Results: Of the 1787 participants with available retinal vascular calibre data, the mean retinal arteriolar calibre (CRAE) was 141.6 ± 18.6 μm, the mean venular calibre (CRVE) was 209.3 ± 26.1 μm, and the mean arteriole-to-venule ratio was 0.68 ± 0.08. A smaller CRAE was associated with male sex, increasing quartiles of systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure, history of hypertension, current alcohol intake and higher quartiles of serum creatinine. A larger CRAE was associated with increasing quartiles of total cholesterol. A larger CRVE was associated with current cigarette smoking. Multivariate analyses showed that a smaller CRAE was associated with male sex, elevated mean arterial blood pressure and a history of hypertension; and a larger CRVE was associated with cigarette smoking. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that a narrowed diameter of the retinal arteriole in Japanese people is related to hypertension and sex (male) and that an enlarged retina venular diameter is related to a history of smoking. The pattern of these associations is similar to that in white populations and other Asian populations.