Retinal vascular abnormalities in adult Chinese in rural and urban Beijing: the Beijing Eye Study.
OBJECTIVE
To assess retinal vascular abnormalities, including focal and generalized arteriolar narrowing, arteriovenous nicking, and arteriolar sheathing, in adult Chinese in rural and urban Beijing, and their associations with self-reported diagnosis of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.


METHODS
Population-based cross-sectional cohort study.


METHODS
The study included 4439 subjects out of 5324 subjects invited to participate (response rate, 83.4%) with an age of > or =40 years. It was divided into a rural part (n = 1973 [44.4%]) and an urban part (n = 2466 [55.6%]). Mean age was 56.2+/-10.6 years (range, 40-101 years).


METHODS
Color optic disc photographs were morphometrically examined. One eye of each participant was randomly selected. Generalized and focal arteriolar narrowing, arteriovenous nicking (arteriovenous crossing abnormalities), and arteriolar sheathing were assessed. Self-reported histories of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and habits of smoking and alcohol drinking were obtained from questionnaires.


METHODS
Frequency of generalized and focal arteriolar narrowing, arteriovenous nicking, and arteriolar sheathing.


RESULTS
Optic disc photographs were available for 4228 (95.2%) subjects. Focal arteriolar narrowing was found in 6.3%, arteriovenous nicking in 6.6%, arteriolar sheathing in 4.8%, and generalized narrowing in 4.3% of the subjects. Abnormalities were more common in the temporal quadrant; they were rare in the inferior nasal quadrant. Frequencies and severities of all retinal microvascular abnormalities examined increased with age (P<0.05). The microvascular abnormalities were detected more frequently in the rural population than in the urban population (P<0.05). After controlling for age, gender, area, and habit of drinking alcohol, generalized arteriolar narrowing (odds ratio [OR], 2.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.64, 4.22), focal arteriolar narrowing (OR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.00, 2.29), and arteriolar sheathing (OR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.08, 2.71) were significantly associated with the self-reported diagnosis of arterial hypertension. The microvascular abnormalities were not significantly associated with the self-reported diagnosis of coronary heart disease or stroke.


CONCLUSIONS
Retinal vascular abnormalities in adult Chinese increase with age and are more commonly found in people living in rural areas. Retinal vascular abnormalities are associated with the self-reported diagnosis of arterial hypertension, and are not related to self-reported diagnosis of coronary heart disease or previous cerebrovascular events such as stroke.
Wang
Shuang
S
Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology, Beijing Tongren Hospital and Capital University of Medical Science, Beijing, China.
Xu
Liang
L
Jonas
Jost B
JB
Wang
Yun Song
YS
Wang
Yaxing
Y
Yang
Hua
H
Li
Jing
J
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D044466:Asian People / Q000208:ethnology*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000208:ethnology*; D012171:Retinal Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*