Abstract
Purpose::
To evaluate the associations of retinal arteriolar and venular diameters, predictors of age-related vascular disorders, and age-related hearing loss.
Methods::
Measures of retinal vessel caliber were obtained from digitized fundus photographs from the 5-yr follow-up of the Beaver Dam Eye Study (1993-95) and hearing impairment was measured in the same cohort as part of the baseline and follow-up studies of the Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study (1993-95, 98-00, 2003-5). Hearing loss was assessed with pure-tone air and bone conduction audiometry. Central retinal artery equivalent (CRAE) and the central retinal vein equivalent (CRVE) were determined for right eyes. Cox proportional hazard models were used in these analyses (n=1578).
Results::
In preliminary analyses adjusting for age and gender, CRAE was associated with the 10-year incidence of hearing impairment (4th quartile vs 1st quartile, HR=1.39, 95%CI=1.05, 1.84) as was CRVE (4th quartile vs 1st quartile, HR=1.45, 95%CI=1.09, 1.93). Adjusting for body mass index, smoking, and glycosylated hemoglobin did not alter these findings. Similar associations were found in analyses using a continuous outcome of the change in the average of pure-tone thresholds at four frequencies.
Conclusions::
These preliminary data demonstrate that ocular measures of vascular factors may be important markers for risk of developing other chronic conditions such as presbycusis. Incorporating these measures in epidemiological studies of these disorders may help to elucidate etiologic pathways.
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence • aging