title: Retinal vessel diameters in a Japanese population: the Locomotive Syndrome and Health Outcome in Aizu Cohort Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the relationship between retinal vascular calibre and cardiovascular risk factors in a Japanese population.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Locomotive Syndrome and Health Outcome in Aizu Cohort Study is a population-based, cross-sectional survey that included 2346 persons (56.1% of the eligible population) aged 40 to 74 years old. Retinal vascular calibre was measured from digital retinal photographs using a validated standardized protocol. Data on major cardiovascular risk factors were collected from all participants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 1787 participants with available retinal vascular calibre data, the mean retinal arteriolar calibre (CRAE) was 141.6 ± 18.6 μm, the mean venular calibre (CRVE) was 209.3 ± 26.1 μm, and the mean arteriole-to-venule ratio was 0.68 ± 0.08. A smaller CRAE was associated with male sex, increasing quartiles of systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure, history of hypertension, current alcohol intake and higher quartiles of serum creatinine. A larger CRAE was associated with increasing quartiles of total cholesterol. A larger CRVE was associated with current cigarette smoking. Multivariate analyses showed that a smaller CRAE was associated with male sex, elevated mean arterial blood pressure and a history of hypertension; and a larger CRVE was associated with cigarette smoking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study suggest that a narrowed diameter of the retinal arteriole in Japanese people is related to hypertension and sex (male) and that an enlarged retina venular diameter is related to a history of smoking. The pattern of these associations is similar to that in white populations and other Asian populations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Takatoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tano
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Juntendo Tokyo Koto Geriatric Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.|National Institute of Public Health, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshimune
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hiratsuka
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Otani
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Miho
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sekiguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Konno
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health Outcomes & Process Evaluation Research, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Onishi
authors.affiliation: Department of Healthcare Epidemiology, School of Public Health in Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Misa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takegami
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Masakazu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.affiliation: Department of Healthcare Epidemiology, School of Public Health in Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.|Center for Innovation in Clinical Research, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Shunichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukuhara
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Murakami
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001160:Arterioles / Q000473:pathology; D044466:Asian People / Q000208:ethnology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010781:Photography; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012171:Retinal Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014699:Venules / Q000473:pathology
keywords: Japanese; arteriole-to-venule ratio; population-based study; retinal blood vessel diameter; retinal fundus camera