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


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


METHODS
Diabetes was defined as physician-diagnosed or fasting blood glucose >or= 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 microm; moderate 236.7 microm) than in nondiabetic participants (221.9 microm) or participants with diabetes but no DR (221.2 microm) (P < .0001). Mean retinal arteriolar caliber was significantly wider in participants with diabetes (193.5 microm) than in nondiabetic participants (190.2 microm) (P < .01).


CONCLUSIONS
Increasing severity of DR in persons with diabetes is associated with widening of retinal venular caliber.
Kifley
Annette
A
Centre for Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney, Australia.
Wang
Jie Jin
JJ
Cugati
Sudha
S
Wong
Tien Y
TY
Mitchell
Paul
P
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D001794:Blood Pressure; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales; D010781:Photography; D012169:Retinal Vein / Q000473:pathology*
D001786:Blood Glucose