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Journal of Neurology

Thinner retinal layers linked to future cardiovascular events

Thicker retinal nerve fiber layers were linked to lower cardiovascular event rates in 51,293 participants, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 0.92.

Paper by Martin Hänsel, Julian Deseoe, Lisa Herzog, +4 more authorsSusanne Wegener · University of Zurich
Fig. 1. Automated segmentation of an optical coherence tomography (OCT) image set.
Open the figure at full size
Fig. 1. Automated segmentation of an optical coherence tomography (OCT) image set.Automated segmentation of an optical coherence tomography (OCT) image set.Hänsel et al.

Our read

Biomarkers
Studied:
Cohort study of 49,787 UK Biobank adults without prior cardiovascular events, median 14.6 years
What changed:
Thicker retinal nerve fiber layers were linked to lower cardiovascular event risk (adjusted hazard ratio 0.92 per standard-deviation increase)
The catch:
Associations with ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke were not analyzed separately
In the record:
The 8th paper on ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer thickness with results in people; 30 on record in all.
Why it’s aging research:
A leading disease of aging, its risks or menopause.

Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News

Paper
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Researchers analyzed data from 51,293 UK Biobank participants in a retrospective observational cohort study. They used optical coherence tomography, a non-invasive eye scan, to measure two retinal layers. The retina is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye.

Over a median 14.7 years, greater thickness in both layers was associated with a lower rate of the combined outcome of stroke, heart attack or cardiovascular death, after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors. The adjusted hazard ratios, which describe relative event rates, were 0.92 for the nerve fiber layer and 0.96 for the layer containing nerve cells and their connections. The nerve fiber layer was more strongly associated with future heart attacks. The other layer was more strongly associated with future strokes.

Why it matters

Preventing cardiovascular disease is an important goal for healthy aging. The authors suggested that retinal measurements could contribute to assessing cardiovascular risk.

Caveats

This observational study cannot establish cause and effect or whether eye scans improve risk prediction. For the layer containing nerve cells and their connections, the range of likely values included no difference.

From the paper

Participants

Of all 502,128 UKBB participants, 51,293 participants (55.1% women) were included in our analysis (Fig. 2).

Results, Patient characteristics and thickness of retinal layers depending on prior CVD

Follow-up

Median follow-up time was 14.7 years.

Results

Result

Both RNFL thickness (aHR 0.92, 95% CI 0.89–0.96, p < 0.001) and GCIPL thickness (aHR 0.96, 95% CI 0.92–1.00, p = 0.04) were statistically associated with incident MACE in cause-specific hazard models adjusted for CVRF.

Results

Limitation

First, only participants between 40 and 69 years of age were recruited to the UKBB.

Limitations

Quoted word for word from the full text on link.springer.com.

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