The Relationship of Retinal Vessel Geometric Characteristics to the Incidence and Progression of Diabetic Retinopathy.

PubMed ID: 29779685

Author(s): Klein R, Lee KE, Danforth L, Tsai MY, Gangnon RE, Meuer SE, Wong TY, Cheung CY, Klein BEK. The relationship of retinal vessel geometric characteristics to the incidence and progression of diabetic retinopathy. Ophthalmology. 2018 Nov;125(11):1784-1792. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2018.04.023. Epub 2018 May 18. PMID 29779685

Journal: Ophthalmology, Volume 125, Issue 11, Nov 2018

PURPOSE To examine the relationships of retinal vessel geometric characteristics (RVGCs) to the incidence and progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR).

DESIGN Observational, prospective cohort study.

PARTICIPANTS Nine hundred ninety-six persons with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and 1370 persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) seen at a baseline examination who were eligible for follow-up examinations at subsequent 5-year intervals. A total of 3846 person-interval data from these follow-up examinations are the basis for the analyses.

METHODS Diabetic retinopathy and macular edema were assessed by grading of 30° stereoscopic color fundus photographs. Retinal vessel geometric characteristics were assessed using the Singapore I Vessel Assessment program from a digitized copy of 1 of the field 1 fundus photographs obtained at baseline and follow-up.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The 5-year incidence of any DR, progression of DR, and incidence of proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and clinically significant macular edema (CSME) in right eyes.

RESULTS Incident DR occurred in 45%, progression in 32%, PDR in 10%, and CSME in 5%. While adjusting for glycated hemoglobin, duration of diabetes, and other factors, retinal arteriolar simple tortuosity was associated significantly with the incidence of any DR (odds ratio [OR], 1.17; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.35). Retinal venular branching angle was associated significantly with progression of DR (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.03-1.36), retinal venular curvature tortuosity was associated significantly with the incidence of PDR (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.01-1.30), and retinal venular branching angle (OR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.10-1.82) was associated significantly with the incidence of CSME. There were no significant associations of other RVGCs with any of the DR outcomes in the full multivariate model. Inclusion of all possible RVGCs did not improve the predictive value of the models that already included retinal vessel diameter and baseline DR severity level.

CONCLUSIONS Retinal vessel geometric characteristics of the retinal venules were associated with progression of DR; however, most of the RVGCs measured from digitized fundus photographs added little to the assessment of risk of incidence and progression of DR when other risk factors were considered in T1DM and T2DM.