title: Retinal vascular caliber, diabetes, and retinopathy.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Annette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kifley
authors.forename: Jie Jin
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Sudha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cugati
authors.forename: Tien Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mitchell
mesh_terms: 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*
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose