title: Retinal vascular calibre and the risk of coronary heart disease-related death.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether retinal vascular calibre independently predicts risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) -related death.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a population-based cohort study of 3654 Australians aged > or = 49 years, retinal arteriolar and venular calibres were measured from baseline retinal photographs and the arteriole to venule ratio (AVR) was calculated. CHD-related death was confirmed from the Australian National Death Index.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over nine years, 78 women (4.1%) and 114 men (7.8%) had incident CHD-related deaths. In people aged 49-75 years, wider venules were associated with CHD death, with relative risk (RR) 1.8 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1 to 2.7) and RR 2.0 (95% CI 1.1 to 3.6) per standard deviation (SD) increase in venular calibre for men and women, respectively, after adjustment for traditional risk factors. Additionally, in women aged 49-75 years, smaller AVR and narrower arterioles were associated with CHD death (RR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.2, and RR 1.9, 95% CI 1.0 to 3.5 per SD decrease in AVR and arteriolar calibre, respectively, after adjustment). These associations were not observed in people aged > 75 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that microvascular disease processes may have a role in CHD development in middle-aged people, particularly in women. Retinal photography may be useful in cardiovascular risk prediction.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology, Westmead Millennium Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. wang@wmi.usyd.edu.au
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liew
authors.forename: T Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Leeder
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mitchell
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012171:Retinal Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D012307:Risk Factors