title: Prevalence and risk factors of retinal arteriolar emboli: the Singapore Malay Eye Study.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: Lyndell
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Jie Jin
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: F M Amirul
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Seang Mei
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Saw
authors.forename: Tin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aung
authors.forename: Tien Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D008078:Cholesterol, LDL