Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42721194›Full record

ArticlePLOS digital health2026

Atrial fibrillation and retinal imaging-based oculomics: A cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis of two large cohorts.

Josef Huemer, Kelsey V Stuart, Yukun Zhou, Dominic J Williamson, Peter Woodward-Court, Alastair R Mobley, Arvind Chandratheva, Florian Berger, Nay Aung, Steffen E Petersen and 9 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLOS digital health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors.

Josef HuemerNIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre, London, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5238-8295
Kelsey V StuartNIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre, London, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7353-8774
Yukun ZhouNIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre, London, United Kingdom.
Dominic J WilliamsonNIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre, London, United Kingdom.
Peter Woodward-CourtNIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre, London, United Kingdom.
Alastair R MobleyNIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Arvind ChandrathevaDepartment of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, Stroke Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom.
Florian BergerPediatric Cardiology, Pediatric Heart Center, University Children's Hospital Zurich, Switzerland.
Nay AungWilliam Harvey Research Institute, NIHR Barts Biomedical Research Centre, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.
Steffen E PetersenWilliam Harvey Research Institute, NIHR Barts Biomedical Research Centre, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4622-5160
UK Biobank Eye and Vision Consortium
Anthony P KhawajaNIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre, London, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6802-8585
Axel PetzoldNIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre, London, United Kingdom.
Jugnoo RahiNIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre, London, United Kingdom.
Alastair K DennistonNIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre, London, United Kingdom.
Dipak KotechaNIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom.
Pearse A KeaneNIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre, London, United Kingdom.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9239-745X
Praveen J PatelNIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre, London, United Kingdom.
Siegfried K WagnerNIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre, London, United Kingdom.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We investigate the association between multimodal retinal imaging parameters with prevalent and incident atrial fibrillation (AF). For this cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis we utilized data from two independent cohorts: AlzEye (retrospective, age ≥ 40 years, 2008-2018) and UK Biobank (UKB; prospective, age 40-69 years, recruited 2006-2010). Retinal sublayer thicknesses and retinovascular indices were extracted from macular optical coherence tomography and color retinal photography, respectively. AF was ascertained via self-report and hospital admissions, association between retinal metrics with prevalent and incident AF were estimated using mixed-effects linear and frailty models. In AlzEye (n = 50,651), prevalent AF (n = 5,375; 11%) was associated with significantly smaller retinal venular calibre (-0.05 µm, 95% CI: -0.08, -0.03) and thinner macular retinal nerve fibre layer (-0.69 µm, 95% CI: -0.91, -0.46), ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (mGCIPL; -1.96 µm, 95% CI: -2.34, -1.58), inner nuclear layer (-0.57 µm, 95% CI: -0.75, -0.38), and photoreceptor layer (-0.93 µm, 95% CI: -1.38, -0.48). Venular fractal dimension was lower (-0.08, 95% CI: -0.11, -0.06), while arteriolar fractal dimension was higher (0.05, 95% CI: 0.02, 0.08) in individuals with AF. Evidence of thinner mGCIPL was replicated in UKB (-1.19 µm, 95% CI: -1.73, -0.65). In UKB (n = 39,013 baseline without AF), 838 developed AF over a mean of 4.0 years. Adjusting for sociodemographic, clinical and lifestyle factors, each SD decrease in mGCIPL thickness was associated with a significant 27% increased hazard of AF (95% CI: 5%, 54%). Differences in the inner retinal sublayers, corresponding to retinal ganglion cells, are associated with prevalent and incident AF across two large independent cohorts, supporting the potential role of widely-accessible retinal imaging for early detection and better management of AF.

Identifiers

PMID42721194
PMCPMC13561364

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Registered trials

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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.