Ten-year incidence of retinal emboli in an older population

• Published in: Stroke (1970) Vol. 37; no. 3; pp. 908 - 910
• Main Authors: CUGATI, Sudha, JIE JIN WANG, ROCHTCHINA, Elena, MITCHELL, Paul
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01.03.2006
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biological and medical sciences; Blood. Blood coagulation. Reticuloendothelial system; Cardiovascular Diseases - pathology; Cohort Studies; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Incidence; Injuries of the limb. Injuries of the spine; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Neurology; Odds Ratio; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Retina - pathology; Retinal Artery Occlusion - diagnosis; Retinal Artery Occlusion - epidemiology; Retinal Vein Occlusion - diagnosis; Retinal Vein Occlusion - epidemiology; Risk Factors; Sex Factors; Time Factors; Traumas. Diseases due to physical agents; Vascular diseases and vascular malformations of the nervous system; Vascular disease; Stroke; Nervous system diseases; Cohort study; Central nervous system disease; Cardiovascular disease; Retina; Epidemiology; Cerebrovascular disease; Embolism; Cerebral disorder; Incidence
• ISSN: 0039-2499; 1524-4628
• DOI: 10.1161/01.STR.0000204118.87477.46

To assess 10-year incidence of retinal emboli and its predictors in an older population. Survivors of 3654 Blue Mountains Eye Study participants > or =49 years of age were re-examined 5 and 10 years later. Incident emboli were assessed from retinal photographs. Cumulative 10-year incidence was 2.9% (95% CI, 2.1% to 3.6%) among 2361 at risk. Age was associated with incident emboli (Ptrend=0.0001). After multivariate adjustment, hypertension (odds ratio [OR], 1.8; CI, 1.0 to 3.1), hypercholesterolemia (OR, 1.3; CI, 1.0 to 1.6), overweight (OR, 3.3; CI, 1.6 to 6.9), current smoking (OR, 2.5; CI, 1.1 to 5.9), increasing fibrinogen level (OR per mg/dL, 1.1; CI, 1.0 to 1.2), and retinal vascular signs (arteriovenous nicking OR, 2.0; CI, 1.2 to 3.6; arteriolar wall opacification OR, 2.3; CI, 1.1 to 5.0; retinal vein occlusion OR, 3.2; CI, 1.0 to 9.9) were significantly associated with incident emboli. The 3% incidence of retinal arteriolar emboli found in this older population is likely to be an underestimate attributable to the transient nature of emboli and differential loss to follow-up. Most cardiovascular risk factors predict retinal embolism.