Wider retinal venular calibre shown to be associated with higher risk of impaired fasting glucose
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Widening of retinal venular calibre is associated with fasting glucose, dysglycaemia and severity of diabetic retinopathy. To assess the associations of retinal vessel calibre with the 10-year incidence of diabetes and impaired fasting glucose (IFG), retinal arteriolar and venular calibres were measured in 3368 participants of the Blue Mountains Eye Study, a population-based cohort study of Australian residents aged at least 49 years. Ten year incidence of diabetes and IFG (defined as fasting blood glucose 109 to 125 mg/dL) was defined from 5-year and 10-year follow-up data. Whereas retinal arteriolar calibre was not associated with incident diabetes or IFG, wider retinal venular calibre was found to be associated with an increased incidence of diabetes and IFG after adjusting for age and gender. However, after controlling for baseline glucose, body mass index and other factors, the associations of wider venular calibre and incident diabetes and IFG were no longer significant. Nevertheless, after further controlling for other factors, the association of wider retinal venular calibre and incident IFG persisted in subjects 49-70 years of age. These findings suggest that wider retinal venular calibre is associated with higher risk of IFG in middle-aged subjects.
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