Hypertension, hyperlipidemia were linked to ocular disease

Proportion of retinal vein occlusion may be linked to atherosclerosis risk factors.

Systemic hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia may pose a risk for not only cardiovascular health but also for ocular health.

It remains to be determined whether lowering BP or serum lipid levels can improve visual acuity or the complications caused by retinal vein occlusion, according to the findings from a recent study.

The researchers from Toronto, Ontario, Canada examined 21 studies conducted from January 1985 to July 2007 that compared participants with any form of retinal vein occlusion. The researchers generated pooled odds ratios and estimates of the population-attributable risk percentages for systemic hypertension, diabetes and hypertension.

Risk factors associated with ocular health

The pooled prevalence of systemic hypertension in 2,916 participants with any form of retinal vein occlusion was 63.6% (95% CI, 58.9%-68.1%). The pooled prevalence in 28,646 participants without retinal vein occlusion was 36.2% (95% CI, 30.7%-42.2%); the pooled odds ratio was 3.5 (95% CI, 2.5-5.1), according to the researchers.

The prevalence of diabetes was 14.6% (95% CI, 12.3%-17.3%) for the 2,877 participants with retinal vein occlusion and 11.1% (95% CI, 9.2%-13.4%) for the 13,225 participants without retinal vein occlusion. The pooled odds ratio was 1.5% (95% CI, 1.1-2.0).

Hyperlipidemia was more than twice as common in the 1,393 participants with any form of retinal vein occlusion (35.1%; 95% CI, 22.0%-51.0%) than in the 2,642 participants without retinal vein occlusion (16.7%; 95% CI, 9.1%-28.6%). The pooled odds ratio was 2.5 (95% CI, 1.7-3.7).

“In this meta-analysis of 21 observational studies including 2,915 persons with retinal vein occlusion, we observed a more than 3.5-times higher risk for retinal vein occlusion in cases with systemic hypertension,” the researchers wrote. “About a 2.5-times higher risk for retinal vein occlusion was associated with hyperlipidemia, but there was only a modest correlation between retinal vein occlusion and the presence of diabetes mellitus.”

The findings suggest that a major proportion of retinal vein occlusion cases are caused by highly prevalent atheroscelerosis risk factors that can be measured in a routine clinical setting, according to the researchers. – by Christen Haigh

For more information:

O’Mahoney PRA, Wong DT, Ray JG. Retinal vein occlusion and traditional risk factors for atherosclerosis. Arch Ophthalmol. 2008;126:692-699.