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Retinopathy a predictor of stroke in nondiabetics, Australian study finds
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Retinopathy signs predict stroke or stroke-related death independent of traditional risk factors for stroke, an Australian population-based study found.
Paul Mitchell, MD, PhD, and colleagues analyzed retinal photographs participants in the Blue Mountain Eyes Study to assess the presence of retinopathy in participants without diabetes and retinal arteriolar signs in all participants.
Over a 7-year period, 859 of the 3,654 participants died, 11.3% from cerebrovascular causes. The combined stroke events were more frequent in participants with retinopathy (5.7%), with moderate/severe arteriovenous nicking (4.2%) or with focal arteriolar narrowing (7.2%) compared with participants who did not have retinopathy.
After controlling for age, sex, smoking and other variables, retinopathy was significantly associated with combined stroke events in people without diabetes. The association was stronger in those without severe hypertension or in those with two or more retinal microvascular signs.
The study is published in Neurology.