ArticleBMC neurology2021
Retinal microvascular parameters are not significantly associated with mild cognitive impairment in the Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing.
Article in BMC neurology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Look into my eyes: What can eye-based measures tell us about the relationship between physical activity and cognitive performance?Journal of sport and health science · 2023Pooled it
- Retinal Vascularity Index in Mild Cognitive Impairment.Translational vision science & technology · 2026Article
- Cohort Profile Update: The Harmonised Cognitive Assessment Protocol sub-study of the Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NICOLA-HCAP).International journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- Article
- Evaluating the Impact of Retinal Vessel Segmentation Metrics on Retest Reliability in a Clinical Setting: A Comparative Analysis Using AutoMorph.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2024Article
- Retinal vessel caliber and cognitive performance: the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis (MESA).Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Ocular biomarkers of cognitive decline based on deep-learning retinal vessel segmentation.BMC geriatrics · 2024Article
- The association of global vessel width with cognitive decline and cerebral small vessel disease burden in the KaiLuan study.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2024Article
- Relationships between quantitative retinal microvascular characteristics and cognitive function based on automated artificial intelligence measurements.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2023Article
- Increased Susceptibility to Cerebral Microhemorrhages Is Associated With Imaging Signs of Microvascular Degeneration in the Retina in an Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 Deficient Mouse Model of Accelerated Aging.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2022Article
- The Optical Nature of Myopic Changes in Retinal Vessel Caliber.Ophthalmology scienceArticle
- Retinal microvasculature and incident dementia over 10 years: The Three-City-Alienor cohort.Alzheimer's & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands)Article
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe retinal and cerebral microvasculature share similar embryological origins and physiological characteristics. Improved imaging technologies provide opportunistic non-invasive assessment of retinal microvascular parameters (RMPs) against cognitive outcomes. We evaluated baseline measures for associations between RMPs and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) from participants of the Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing (NICOLA).
methodsRMPs (central retinal arteriolar / venular equivalents, arteriole to venular ratio, fractal dimension and tortuosity) were measured from optic disc centred fundus images and analysed using semi-automated software. Associations between RMPs and MCI were assessed by multivariable logistic regression with adjustment for potential confounders including age, sex, alcohol consumption, smoking status, educational attainment, physical activity, cardiovascular disease (CVD), hypertension, mean arterial blood pressure, triglycerides, diabetes, body mass index, and high density lipoprotein levels. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
resultsData were available for 1431 participants, of which 156 (10.9%) were classified with MCI defined by a Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score ≤ 26, with subjective cognitive decline, in the absence of depression or problems with activities of daily living. Participants had a mean age of 62.4 ± 8.5 yrs. and 52% were female. As expected, individuals with MCI had a lower MoCA score than those without (23.5 ± 2.6 versus 26.3 ± 2.7, respectively), were more likely to be female, have a lower level of educational attainment, be less physically active, more likely to have CVD, have higher levels of triglycerides and lower levels of high density lipoprotein. No significant associations between RMPs and MCI were detected in unadjusted, minimally adjusted or fully adjusted regression models or subsequent sensitivity analyses.
conclusionPrevious studies have reported both increased retinal venular calibre and reduced fractal dimension in association with mild cognitive impairment. Our study failed to detect any associations between RMPs and those individuals at an early stage of cognitive loss in an older community-based cohort.
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