Prevalence and risk factors of retinal arteriolar emboli: the Singapore Malay Eye Study.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the prevalence and risk factors of retinal arteriolar emboli, a risk predictor of stroke, in an Asian population.


METHODS
Population-based cross-sectional study.


METHODS
Retinal emboli were ascertained from retinal photographs obtained from both eyes of 3,265 Asian Malays, aged 40 to 80 years, according to a standardized protocol. Risk factors were assessed from detailed standardized interviews, clinical examinations, and laboratory investigations.


RESULTS
The overall prevalence of retinal emboli was 0.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.58 to 0.62). A finding of retinal emboli was strongly associated with increasing age (P = .005, for trend), but age-stratified prevalence rates were still lower than those reported from previous population-based studies of White persons. After adjusting for age and gender, the presence of retinal emboli was associated with cigarette smoking (odds ratio [OR], 5.96; 95% CI, 1.75 to 20.32), elevated total cholesterol (OR, 5.21; 95% CI, 1.93 to 12.82), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (OR, 2.98; 95% CI, 1.20 to 7.39), and self-reported history of angina (OR, 5.67; 95% CI, 1.62 to 19.91). These associations remained significant in multivariate analysis with additional adjustment for other risk factors.


CONCLUSIONS
Retinal emboli are less common in Asians than in similarly aged White persons, but are associated with similar cardiovascular risk factors.
Cheung
Ning
N
Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
Lim
Lyndell
L
Wang
Jie Jin
JJ
Islam
F M Amirul
FM
Mitchell
Paul
P
Saw
Seang Mei
SM
Aung
Tin
T
Wong
Tien Y
TY
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000208:ethnology; D001160:Arterioles; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004617:Embolism / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006937:Hypercholesterolemia / Q000208:ethnology; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012161:Retinal Artery; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000208:ethnology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012846:Singapore / Q000208:ethnology; D012907:Smoking / Q000208:ethnology; D020521:Stroke / Q000208:ethnology
D008078:Cholesterol, LDL