Relationship of retinal vascular caliber with diabetes and retinopathy: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).
OBJECTIVE
To examine the relationship of retinal vascular caliber with diabetes, glycemia, and diabetic retinopathy.


METHODS
Population-based study using data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), comprising 5,976 individuals (whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Chinese) residing in six U.S. communities who were free of clinical cardiovascular disease at baseline. Retinal vascular caliber was measured from digital retinal photographs.


RESULTS
There were 4,585 individuals with normal fasting glucose (NFG), 499 with impaired fasting glucose (IFG), 165 with diabetes with retinopathy signs, and 727 with diabetes without retinopathy signs. After multivariate analysis, retinal arteriolar caliber increased from 143.8 microm in subjects with NFG to 144.5 microm in IFG and 146.1 microm in diabetes (P < 0.001 for trend). Retinal venular caliber increased from 214.4 microm in NFG to 216.7 microm in IFG and 218.0 microm in diabetes (P < 0.001 for trend). Retinal venular caliber was significantly larger with increasing levels of fasting glucose and A1C. In a subgroup analysis by ethnicity, the association between wider arteriolar caliber and diabetes was evident in whites only, whereas wider venular caliber and diabetes was evident in Hispanics and Chinese only. In people with diabetes, eyes with retinopathy had larger retinal venular but not arteriolar caliber.


CONCLUSIONS
Retinal arteriolar and venular calibers are larger in individuals with diabetes, but the pattern of associations appears to vary by ethnicity. Retinal venular caliber is additionally associated with retinopathy signs. These findings add further to the concept that variations in retinal vascular caliber may reflect early diabetic microvascular damage.
Nguyen
Thanh Tan
TT
Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne, 32 Gisborne Street, Victoria 3002, Australia.
Wang
Jie Jin
JJ
Sharrett
A Richey
AR
Islam
F M Amirul
FM
Klein
Ronald
R
Klein
Barbara E K
BE
Cotch
Mary Frances
MF
Wong
Tien Yin
TY
D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000097:blood / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000097:blood / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D018149:Glucose Intolerance / Q000097:blood; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000378:metabolism; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology*; D012171:Retinal Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D001786:Blood Glucose; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin