The association of corneal arcus with coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease mortality in the Lipid Research Clinics Mortality Follow-up Study.
The relationship between corneal arcus (arcus senilis) and mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is examined in a prospective study of White men (n = 3,930) and women non-hormone users (n = 2,139), ages 30-69, followed for an average of 8.4 years as part of the Lipid Research Clinics Mortality Follow-up Study. After excluding those with clinically manifest CHD at baseline, corneal arcus was strongly associated with CHD and CVD mortality only in hyperlipidemic men ages 30-49 years, for whom the relative risk for CHD and CVD death was 3.7 and 4.0, respectively, after adjusting for age, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and smoking status using a Cox proportional hazards model. Among 30-49 year old males, corneal arcus appears to be a prognostic factor for CHD, independent of its association with hyperlipidemia in this age-group, of about the same magnitude as other common risk factors, underscoring the usefulness of corneal arcus as a prognostic factor to the practicing clinician.
Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
L E
LE
Chambless
F D
FD
Fuchs
S
S
Linn
S B
SB
Kritchevsky
J C
JC
Larosa
P
P
Segal
B M
BM
Rifkind
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism; D001112:Arcus Senilis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D003318:Corneal Opacity / Q000150:complications*; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood
D014280:Triglycerides; D002784:Cholesterol