Examination of Large Artery Atherosclerosis Could Reveal Small Artery Retinopathy in Untreated Middle-Aged Individuals

Aims: Small arteries can be visualized in the ocular fundus, and findings of retinopathy based on Scheie classification are often applied to evaluate the impact of hypertension and atherosclerosis. However, the relationship between damage in the large and small arteries has not been investigated sufficiently, especially in the early stages. The present study investigated possible associations between large artery atherosclerosis and small artery retinopathy in untreated middle-aged individuals.

Methods: Untreated middle-aged workers undergoing periodic health check-ups (n=7,730, 45±8 years) were enrolled in this study. The absence or presence and extent of retinopathy were characterized by ophthalmologists as hypertensive (H0-4) and atherosclerotic grades (S0-4) based on Scheie classification. Large artery atherosclerosis was examined based on functional assessment of the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) and morphological assessment of the carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) by ultrasound.

Results: We found significant differences in CAVI and carotid IMT between individuals with and without hypertensive or atherosclerotic retinopathy. Multivariable regression analysis showed that the presence of hypertensive and atherosclerotic retinopathy was significantly associated with CAVI and carotid IMT. Logistic regression analysis with the endpoint of a hypertensive or atherosclerotic lesion revealed that CAVI and carotid IMT are independent determinants of retinopathy.

Conclusions: CAVI and carotid IMT were significantly associated with the presence of retinopathy based on Scheie classification in untreated middle-aged subjects, implying that atherosclerotic examination in large arteries could reveal early-stage small artery retinopathy.