TOPLINE:Increase in blood pressure and intraocular pressure over time is associated with narrower and more twisted small blood vessels in the retina.
They measured blood pressure and intraocular pressure and evaluated the width and tortuosity of small and large vessels in the retina.
TAKEAWAY:Older individuals had narrower and more twisted small blood vessels in the retina (arterioles) and wider, less twisted larger blood vessels (venules).
The arterioles in the retina narrowed by 0.13 pixels for every 10 mm Hg increase in systolic blood pressure (P < .001) and by 0.02 pixels for each mm Hg increase in eye pressure (P < .05).
The follow-up period was relatively short, which may have influenced the associations between changes in intraocular pressure and retinal vessel width.
TOPLINE:
Increase in blood pressure and intraocular pressure over time is associated with narrower and more twisted small blood vessels in the retina.
METHODOLOGY:
Researchers assessed 2089 individuals from a Danish cohort (mean age, 61 years; 63% women) who underwent two consecutive eye examinations with a follow-up period of at least 3 years.
They measured blood pressure and intraocular pressure and evaluated the width and tortuosity of small and large vessels in the retina.
The mean follow-up was 4.1 years.
TAKEAWAY:
Older individuals had narrower and more twisted small blood vessels in the retina (arterioles) and wider, less twisted larger blood vessels (venules).
The arterioles in the retina narrowed by 0.13 pixels for every 10 mm Hg increase in systolic blood pressure (P < .001) and by 0.02 pixels for each mm Hg increase in eye pressure (P < .05).
An increase in eye pressure at follow-up was linked to a greater increase in the twisting of these small blood vessels than at baseline (0.59% per mm Hg; P = .024).
Higher blood pressure parameters at follow-up were also tied to wider arterioles.
IN PRACTICE:
The authors stated that variations in blood pressure and alterations in the intraocular pressure over time are associated with changes in the width and tortuosity of retinal vessels, and further research is needed "to understand the ageing process and vascular etiology of chronic diseases such as glaucoma."
SOURCE:
The study was led by Josefine Freiberg, MD, of the Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology at the University of Copenhagen, in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was published online on July 02, 2024, in Acta Ophthalmologica.
LIMITATIONS:
The cross-sectional analyses had a limited sample size, which may have affected the replication of previous findings concerning tortuosity and venular width. The follow-up period was relatively short, which may have influenced the associations between changes in intraocular pressure and retinal vessel width. No information was available on the prescribed antihypertensive treatment, which could have affected the results. The lack of information on axial length and cataract surgery may have introduced measurement biases in the retinal vessel width.
DISCLOSURES:
The Synoptik Foundation, A.P. Moller Foundation, Velux Foundation, and Danish Life Science Cluster provided funding in the form of grants. The study did not report any conflicts of interest.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
