title: Correlation of retinal arterial wall thickness with atherosclerosis predictors in type 2 diabetes without clinical retinopathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate retinal arterial wall thickness (WT) using high-resolution retinal imaging in patients with type 2 diabetes and assess its correlation with risk factors for arteriosclerosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Outer diameter, inner diameter and WT of the retinal artery were measured using adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy in 28 patients with type 2 diabetes without clinically apparent diabetic retinopathy and normal volunteers. Laboratory values and intima-media thickness (IMT) in the common carotid artery were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Retinal arterial WT was significantly greater in patients with type 2 diabetes than in controls (p=0.02). There was a significant correlation of retinal artery WT with IMT in patients with diabetes (r=0.40, p=0.04). WT in patients with diabetes was positively correlated with haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) (r=0.49, p=0.001), total cholesterol (r=0.47, p=0.002) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (r=0.47, p=0.003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Microvasuclar thickness was greater in patients with diabetes than in controls. Furthermore, WT was positively correlated with HbA1c, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and IMT in the diabetic group. These results suggest that retinal artery wall measurements can be potential surrogate markers of early diabetic microangiopathy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arichika
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Akihito
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Uji
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuma
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Norimoto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gotoh
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Nagahisa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D017536:Carotid Artery, Common / Q000473:pathology*; D059168:Carotid Intima-Media Thickness; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012161:Retinal Artery / Q000473:pathology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Imaging; Retina