Abstract
Purpose::
To investigate risk factors for central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO).
Methods::
Consecutive patients with CRVO seen from July 2005 through July 2006 were compared with a historical gender- and age-matched control group. The data was obtained by retrospective review of the medical records of the patients’ visits.
Results::
The mean age of the CRVO group (N=144) was 69.6 years (SD, 13.6 years; range, 24.8 to 94.2 years), and of the control group (N=144), 68.9 years (SD, 15.2 years; range, 17.8 to 94.7 years). The male-female ratio for both groups was 87:57. CRVO was associated with hypertension (P<0.001), diabetes mellitus (P=0.047), glaucoma (P<0.001), atrial fibrillation (P=0.036), angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor use (P=0.022), aspirin use (P<0.001), and warfarin use (P=0.011) by univariate analyses. Post-menopausal estrogen use was more common among women in the control group (P=0.029). Independent predictors for CRVO (odds ratio [OR], 95% confidence interval [CI], P value) were found in glaucoma (OR, 4.75; CI, 2.33-9.71; P<0.001), aspirin use (OR, 2.66; CI, 1.52-4.64; P=0.001) and warfarin use (OR, 3.34; CI, 1.44-7.80; P=0.005) by a multivariate logistic regression model.
Conclusions::
In addition to many of the same risk factors demonstrated by other previous studies, we found both aspirin and warfarin use to be independent risk factors for CRVO. While these findings imply the vasculopathic and prothrombotic risks in some patients may not be fully addressed by antithrombotic therapy, they also suggest the pathogenesis of CRVO may be more complicated than just the development of a primary thrombus within the vein.
Keywords: vascular occlusion/vascular occlusive disease • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: risk factor assessment • retina