PubMed ID: 30304202
Author(s): Dartora WJ, Maestri MK, Schmidt MI, Duncan BB, Chambless L, Klein R, Meuer S, Luft VC. Validity and reproducibility of retinal arteriole and venule diameter measurements: ELSA-Brasil study. A cross-sectional study. Sao Paulo Med J. 2018 Jul-Aug;136(4):276-286. doi: 10.1590/1516-3180.2018.0227230718. PMID 30304202
Journal: Sao Paulo Medical Journal = Revista Paulista De Medicina, Volume 136, Issue 4, 2018
BACKGROUND Investigation of alterations to retinal microvasculature may contribute towards understanding the role of such changes in the pathophysiology of several chronic non-communicable diseases. The objective here was to evaluate the validity and reproducibility of retinal arteriole and venule diameter measurements made by Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) graders.
DESIGN AND SETTING Cross-sectional study at six teaching and research institutions.
METHODS To evaluate validity, each of 25 retinal images from the University of Wisconsin (gold standard) was measured by five ELSA-Brasil graders. To evaluate reproducibility, 105 images across the spectrum of vessel diameters were selected from 12,257 retinal images that had been obtained between 2010 and 2012, and each image was reexamined by the same grader and by an independent grader. All measurements were made using the Interactive Vessel Analysis (IVAN) software. Bland-Altman plots, paired t tests and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were analyzed.
RESULTS Mean differences between ELSA-Brasil and gold-standard readings were 0.16 µm (95% CI -0.17-0.50; P = 0.31) for central retinal artery equivalent (CRAE), -0.21 µm (95% CI -0.56-0.14; P = 0.22) for central retinal vein equivalent (CRVE) and 0.0005 (95% CI -0.008-0.009; P = 0.55) for arteriole/venule ratio (AVR). Intragrader ICCs were 0.77 (95% CI 0.67-0.86) for CRAE, 0.90 (95% CI 0.780.96) for CRVE and 0.70 (0.55-0.83) for AVR. Intergrader ICCs were 0.75 (95% CI 0.64-0.85) for CRAE, 0.90 (95% CI 0.79-0.96) for CRVE and 0.68 (95% CI 0.55-0.82) for AVR.
CONCLUSIONS Retinal microvascular diameter measurements are valid and present moderate to high intra and intergrader reproducibility in ELSA-Brasil.