Abstract
Purpose: To investigate the relationship between retinal microvascular reactivity, circulatory markers for CVD risk and systemic antioxidative defence capacity in healthy middle-aged individuals with low to moderate risk of CVD.
Methods: Retinal vascular reactivity to flickering light was assessed in 102 healthy participants (46-60 years) by means of dynamic retinal vessel analysis (DVA). Other vascular assessments included carotid intima-media thickness (C-IMT) and blood pressure (BP) measurements. Total cholesterol (CHOL), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides (TG) and blood glutathione levels in its reduced (GSH) and oxidized (GSSG) forms were also determined for each participant, along with Framingham risk scores (FRS).
Results: Retinal arterial baseline diameter fluctuation (BDF) was independently, significantly and negatively influenced by LDL-C levels (β = -0.53, p = 0.027). Moreover, the arterial dilation slope (SlopeAD) was independently, significantly and positively associated with redox index (GSH: GSSG ratio, β = 0.28, p = 0.016), while the arterial constriction slope (SlopeAC) was significantly and negatively influenced by blood GSH levels (β = -0.20, p = 0.042), and positively associated with FRS (β = 0.25, p = 0.009). Venous BDF and dilation amplitude (DA) were also negatively influenced by plasma LDL-C levels (β = -0.83, p = 0.013; and β = -0.22, p = 0.028, respectively).
Conclusions: In otherwise healthy individuals with low to moderate cardiovascular risk, retinal microvascular dilation and constriction responses to stress levels are influenced by systemic antioxidant capacity, and circulating markers for cardiovascular risk.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | e266-e274 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Acta Ophthalmologica |
| Volume | 93 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 9 Dec 2014 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2015 |
Bibliographical note
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Seshadri, S., Mroczkowska, S., Qin, L., Patel, S., Ekárt, A., & Gherghel, D. (2015). Systemic circulatory influences on retinal microvascular function in middle-age individuals with low to moderate cardiovascular risk. Acta ophthalmologica, 93(4), e266-e274, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/aos.12594. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.Keywords
- cardiovascular risk
- dynamic retinal vessel analysis
- oxidative stress
- retina
- vascular function