Abstract
Purpose
To evaluate the associations between components of metabolic syndrome and retinal vascular changes in a Korean population based on data collected at health check-ups.
Methods
Fundus photographs of 381 patients participating in a health check-up were examined to identify central retinal artery equivalent (CRAE), central retinal vein equivalent (CRVE), and arteriovenous ratio (AVR) by IVAN software. Retinal hemorrhage, arteriovenous nicking, and retinal exudate were also noted. The association between metabolic syndrome and each component was then analyzed.
Results
Significant associations were shown between metabolic syndrome and CRAE (p = 0.032), central obesity and CRAE (p = 0.037), triglyceride and CRAE (p = 0.011), and triglyceride and AVR (p = 0.005), in addition to central obesity and arteriovenous nicking (odds ratio [OR] = 2.68, p = 0.013), central obesity and retinal exudate (OR = 2.30, p = 0.038), serum glucose and retinal hemorrhage (OR = 8.06, p = 0.030), and blood pressure and arteriovenous nicking (OR = 2.78, p = 0.007).
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![]() | Figure 1.Fundus photograph centered at the optic disc of left eye, grader analysis measures arteries and veins, the largest six arteries (red) and veins (blue) are used to calculate the central retinal artery equivalent and central retinal vein equivalent by the “Big 6” method. Yellow line is the vessel indicator of the IVAN. DD = disc diameter. |
Table 1.
Demographics of participants with or without metabolic syndrome, defined with National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP III) criteria
Metabolic syndrome | |||
---|---|---|---|
Present (N = 52) | Absent (N = 269) | p-value* | |
Age (years) | 58.5 ± 10.8 | 54.6 ± 10.0 | 0.012 |
Gender (% male) | 37 (71.2) | 165 (59.5) | 0.122 |
Height (kg) | 165.8 ± 9.7 | 163.8 ± 8.7 | 0.135 |
Weight (cm) | 73.9 ± 11.8 | 64.6 ± 10.2 | <0.001 |
Body mass index (kg/m2) | 26.8 ± 2.7 | 24.0 ± 2.6 | <0.001 |
Waist circumference (cm) | 89.9 ± 7.15 | 79.7 ± 8.5 | <0.001 |
Systolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 129.4 ± 6.1 | 119.5 ± 9.7 | <0.001 |
Diastolic blood pressure (mm Hg) | 78.1 ± 5.6 | 74.3 ± 5.9 | <0.001 |
Triglyceride (mg/dL) | 189.2 ± 84.0 | 114.2 ± 66.8 | <0.001 |
HDL cholesterol (mg/dL) | 40.9 ± 7.6 | 51.5 ± 10.7 | <0.001 |
Fasting glucose (mg/dL) | 118.3 ± 36.0 | 94.5 ± 14.6 | <0.001 |
Table 2.
Relationship of retinal vascular calibers with metabolic syndrome factors
Table 3.
Odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for components of metabolic syndrome