ReviewInternational journal of retina and vitreous2025
Effects of cigarette smoking on retinal thickness and choroidal vascularity index: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in International journal of retina and vitreous, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Brain care score and retinal health: structural and metabolic insights from the UK Biobank.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Can the Posterior Segment Findings of the Eye and Serum Microbiota Metabolites Be a Biomarker in Schizophrenia?Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- First Clinical Evidence Linking Smoking to Increased Postoperative Macular and Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness in Cataract Surgery Patients: A Prospective Cohort Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Oculomics meets exposomics: a roadmap for applying multi-modal ocular biomarkers in precision environmental health research.Exposome · 2025Review
- Retinal biomarkers in schizophrenia spectrum disorders: evidence and implications for the neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative models.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSmoking increases oxidative stress, affecting the vascular endothelium by decreasing the antioxidant vitamin C and disrupting regular nitric oxide activity. It reduces blood flow in the retina and choroid due to increased vascular resistance and compromised choroidal blood flow regulation compared to nonsmokers. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to elucidate the impact of cigarette smoking on retinal thickness and the choroidal vascularity index (CVI).
methodsA comprehensive literature search was performed across multiple databases, including Web of Science, Medline, PubMed, and Embase, adhering to the PRISMA and MOOSE guidelines. Observational studies were selected to explore the relationships between smoking and ocular parameters such as CVI, full-retinal, and choroidal thickness. Two independent reviewers conducted the data extraction and quality assessment using a modified Newcastle-Ottawa scale. Statistical analysis was performed using a random-effects model.
resultsFour out of the 743 identified articles, involving 702 eyes, met the inclusion criteria. The analysis revealed a significant reduction in the CVI among smokers (SMD: -0.61, 95% CI: -0.78 to -0.43, p < 0.00001), indicating compromised choroidal vascularity. In contrast, the impact of smoking on subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) was not statistically significant (mean difference: 3.88 μm, 95% CI: -7.34 to 15.10, p = 0.50), with high heterogeneity (I² = 79%). Additionally, the full-retinal thickness (FRT) did not show a significant difference between smokers and nonsmokers.
conclusionCigarette smoking negatively affects choroidal vascularity, as indicated by a significant reduction in CVI. However, its impact on FRT and SFCT remains unclear and requires further research. These findings highlight the importance of smoking cessation for eye health and suggest that CVI is a valuable noninvasive biomarker for monitoring vascular changes in smokers.
trial registrationPROSPERO registration number: CRD42024627478.
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.