title: Relationship of retinal vascular caliber with diabetes and retinopathy: the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA).
abstract: 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.
authors: Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne, 32 Gisborne Street, Victoria 3002, Australia.
authors: Thanh Tan
authors: TT
authors: Nguyen
authors: Jie Jin
authors: JJ
authors: Wang
authors: A Richey
authors: AR
authors: Sharrett
authors: F M Amirul
authors: FM
authors: Islam
authors: Ronald
authors: R
authors: Klein
authors: Barbara E K
authors: BE
authors: Klein
authors: Mary Frances
authors: MF
authors: Cotch
authors: Tien Yin
authors: TY
authors: Wong
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin