ArticleBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2004
Prospective cohort study of retinal vessel diameters and risk of hypertension.
Article in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2004. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to trial NCT00011167 (Retinal Arteriolar Abnormalities and CV Mortality), which is not on this map. Cited by 80 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Retinal Arteriolar Abnormalities and CV Mortality
Who cites it
80 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 255 citations in OpenAlex.
- Retinal vascular caliber and the development of hypertension: a meta-analysis of individual participant data.Journal of hypertension · 2014Pooled it
- Genetic loci for retinal arteriolar microcirculation.PloS one · 2013Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Retinal arteriolar diameter and the prevalence and incidence of hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis of their association.Current hypertension reports · 2012Pooled it
- High-salt intake affects retinal vascular tortuosity in healthy males: an exploratory randomized cross-over trial.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Retinal microvascular changes and the risk of developing obesity: population-based cohort study.Microcirculation (New York, N.Y. : 1994) · 2011Trial
- Altered retinal vasculature in childhood cancer survivors: Data from the German CVSS-study.Acta ophthalmologica · 2025Article
- Analysis of Retinal Thickness in Patients With Chronic Diseases Using Standardized Optical Coherence Tomography Data: Database Study Based on the Radiology Common Data Model.JMIR medical informatics · 2025Article
- Longitudinal associations of retinal vessel morphology with intraocular pressure and blood pressure at follow-up visit-Findings from a Danish eye and vision cohort, Project FOREVER.Acta ophthalmologica · 2025Article
- Phenotypic and genetic characteristics of retinal vascular parameters and their association with diseases.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Microvascular Changes during Viral Infections: A Systematic Review of Studies Using Retinal Vessel Diameter Assessments.Biomedicines · 2024Review
- Impaired retinal oxygen metabolism and perfusion are accompanied by plasma protein and lipid alterations in recovered COVID-19 patients.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Article
- Clinical Significance of Altered Vascular Morphology and Function in Normotension.Current hypertension reports · 2023Review
- Genome-wide Association Studies of Retinal Vessel Tortuosity Identify Numerous Novel Loci Revealing Genes and Pathways Associated With Ocular and Cardiometabolic Diseases.Ophthalmology science · 2023Article
- Non-Invasive Retinal Blood Vessel Wall Measurements with Polarization-Sensitive Optical Coherence Tomography for Diabetes Assessment: A Quantitative Study.Biomolecules · 2023Article
- Evaluation of subclinical changes in recently diagnosed pediatric hypertension patients without hypertensive retinopathy: an OCT study.International ophthalmology · 2023Article
- Retinal Disease Detection Using Deep Learning Techniques: A Comprehensive Review.Journal of imaging · 2023Review
- Mild Hypertensive Retinopathy and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: The Suita Study.Journal of atherosclerosis and thrombosis · 2022Article
- Mid- to Late-Life Time-Averaged Cumulative Blood Pressure and Late-Life Retinal Microvasculature: The ARIC Study.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2022Article
20 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo examine the relation between diameters of the retinal arterioles and 10 year incidence of hypertension.
designPopulation based prospective cohort study.
settingBeaver Dam eye study.
participants2451 normotensive people aged 43 to 84 years.
main outcome measuresDiameters of retinal arterioles and venules measured from digitised photographs of the retina taken at baseline. Measurements summarised as the arteriole:venule ratio, with a lower ratio indicating smaller arteriolar diameters. Incident hypertension, defined as systolic blood pressure > or =140 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure > or =90 mm Hg, or use of antihypertensive drugs during follow up.
results721 participants developed hypertension over a 10 year period. Those with lower arteriole:venule ratio had a higher cumulative incidence of hypertension (incidences of 17.4%, 24.1%, 31.0%, and 45.1%, respectively, for decreasing quarters of distribution of arteriole:venule ratio). After adjustment for age and sex, participants with arteriole:venule ratios in the lowest quarter had a threefold higher risk of hypertension (odds ratio 2.95, 95% confidence interval 2.77 to 3.88) than those with ratios in the highest quarter. This association remained significant after further adjustment for baseline systolic and diastolic blood pressure and other risk factors (1.82, 1.39 to 2.40, for lowest versus highest ratio quarters).
conclusionsNarrowed retinal arterioles are associated with long term risk of hypertension, suggesting that structural alterations of the microvasculature may be linked to the development of hypertension.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.