Retinal vein occlusions and mortality: the Beijing Eye Study.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the association between retinal vein occlusion (RVO) and mortality in a population-based setting.


METHODS
Population-based, longitudinal study.


METHODS
At baseline in 2001, the Beijing Eye Study examined 4,335 subjects for RVO with a frequency of detected vein occlusions of 61 (1.4%) in 4,335 subjects. In 2006, all study participants were invited for a follow-up examination.


RESULTS
Of the 4,335 subjects, 3,195 (73.7%) returned for follow-up examination, whereas 132 (3.0%) subjects had died and 1,008 (23.3%) subjects declined to be re-examined or had moved away. For the subjects younger than 70 years or than 65 years, respectively, RVO was associated significantly with an increased mortality rate (P = .05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.995 to 8.26; and P = .001; 95% CI, 2.11 to 18.73, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
RVO in relatively young persons may signal a significant risk of mortality.
Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Liang
L
Xu
Wei W
WW
Liu
Ya X
YX
Wang
Hua
H
Yang
Jost B
JB
Jonas
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012170:Retinal Vein Occlusion / Q000401:mortality*