TY - JOUR

T1 - Longitudinal associations of retinal vessel morphology with intraocular pressure and blood pressure at follow-up visit-Findings from a Danish eye and vision cohort, Project FOREVER

AU - Freiberg, Josefine

AU - Welikala, Roshan

AU - Rovelt, Jens

AU - Barman, Sarah A

AU - Owen, Christopher G

AU - Rudnicka, Alicja R

AU - Kolko, Miriam

AU - FOREVER consortium

N1 - © 2024 The Author(s). Acta Ophthalmologica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation.

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - PURPOSE: To characterise the retinal vasculometry of a Danish eye and vision cohort and examine associations with systolic blood pressure (BP), diastolic BP, mean arterial BP, and intraocular pressure (IOP).DESIGN: Longitudinal study.METHODS: The retinal vasculature of fundus images from the FOREVER (Finding Ophthalmic Risks and Evaluating the Value of Eye exams and their predictive Reliability) cohort was analysed using a fully automated image analysis program. Longitudinal associations of retinal vessel morphology at follow-up visit with IOP (baseline and follow-up) and BP (follow-up) were examined using multilevel linear regression models adjusting for age, sex and retinal vasculometry at baseline as fixed effects and person as random effect. Width measurements were additionally adjusted for the spherical equivalent.RESULTS: A total of 2089 subjects (62% female) with a mean age of 61 (standard deviation 8) years and a mean follow-up period of 4.1 years (SD 0.6 years) were included. The mean arteriolar diameter was approximately 20% thinner than the mean venular diameter, and venules were about 21%-23% less tortuous than arterioles. BP at follow-up was associated with decreased arteriolar diameter from baseline to follow-up. After adjusting for baseline IOP, IOP at follow-up was associated with increased arteriolar tortuosity above baseline (0.59%, 95% CI 0.08-1.10, p-value 0.024).CONCLUSION: In a Danish eye and vision cohort, variations in BP and alterations in IOP over time were associated with changes in the width and tortuosity of retinal vessels. Our findings contribute novel insights into retinal vascular alterations over time.

AB - PURPOSE: To characterise the retinal vasculometry of a Danish eye and vision cohort and examine associations with systolic blood pressure (BP), diastolic BP, mean arterial BP, and intraocular pressure (IOP).DESIGN: Longitudinal study.METHODS: The retinal vasculature of fundus images from the FOREVER (Finding Ophthalmic Risks and Evaluating the Value of Eye exams and their predictive Reliability) cohort was analysed using a fully automated image analysis program. Longitudinal associations of retinal vessel morphology at follow-up visit with IOP (baseline and follow-up) and BP (follow-up) were examined using multilevel linear regression models adjusting for age, sex and retinal vasculometry at baseline as fixed effects and person as random effect. Width measurements were additionally adjusted for the spherical equivalent.RESULTS: A total of 2089 subjects (62% female) with a mean age of 61 (standard deviation 8) years and a mean follow-up period of 4.1 years (SD 0.6 years) were included. The mean arteriolar diameter was approximately 20% thinner than the mean venular diameter, and venules were about 21%-23% less tortuous than arterioles. BP at follow-up was associated with decreased arteriolar diameter from baseline to follow-up. After adjusting for baseline IOP, IOP at follow-up was associated with increased arteriolar tortuosity above baseline (0.59%, 95% CI 0.08-1.10, p-value 0.024).CONCLUSION: In a Danish eye and vision cohort, variations in BP and alterations in IOP over time were associated with changes in the width and tortuosity of retinal vessels. Our findings contribute novel insights into retinal vascular alterations over time.

U2 - 10.1111/aos.16737

DO - 10.1111/aos.16737

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 38953839

JO - Acta Ophthalmologica

JF - Acta Ophthalmologica

SN - 1755-375X

ER -