Association between carotid intima-media thickness and retinal arteriolar and venular diameter in patients with hypertension: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE

Abnormalities in retinal vessels are frequent, but its association with findings in other vascular sites has been scarcely investigated. This study aimed to examine the association between ultrasound-measured carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and retinal arteriolar and venular diameters, in hypertensive patients.

METHODS

In this cross-section study, 173 hypertensive patients had both retinography taken and digitized to determine vessel diameters by an edge-detecting computerized method and carotid ultrasound for semi-automated carotid IMT measurement. The association between the mean common carotid IMT and retinal arterioles and venules diameters was assessed by using multiple linear regression models.

RESULTS

The mean (±SD) arteriolar and venular diameters were 102. 8 (±11.6) μm and 128.9 (±15.5) μm, respectively, and common carotid IMT was 0.87 (±0.19) mm. A significant and independent association was demonstrated for carotid IMT and retinal arteriolar caliber (adjusted β -0.245, p = 0.001) and for carotid IMT and retinal venular caliber (adjusted β 0.191, p = 0.009) after controlling for age, gender, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol and HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, prior cardiovascular disease, carotid plaque and the retinal fellow vessel.

CONCLUSION

In patients with hypertension, carotid intima-media thickness, a marker of macrovascular damage, is significantly and independently associated with microvascular damage, determined by retinal arteriolar and venular calibers.