Figure 4 displays the vascular outcome variables (RBF, RVR, and AR) as a function of BP status (recruitment BP definitions). For reference,
Table 3 presents RPP, hematocrit, and the components measured by fundus imaging (CRAE, CRVE) and OCT-A (FD) that were used in the calculation of the vascular outcome variables. There were differences in RBF between groups (
P = 0.034), but after adjusting for multiple comparisons RBF was only significantly lower in the low BP group when compared to the untreated AHT group (
Padj = 0.043). RVR was also different between groups (
P = 9.0 ⋅ 10
−9), with the additional presence of a larger variance in the treated AHT group (Levene's test:
P = 0.002). With regards to AR, the unequal variances were also statistically significant (Levene's test:
P = 0.0002), showing that, unlike any other group, treated hypertensives could have either a large or a small AR. As can be better seen in
Figure 5 and
Supplementary Table S3, the low BP group had a significantly smaller AR than the control group, regardless of AR quantile compared. Conversely, the untreated hypertensives had a significantly larger AR than the control group, regardless of quantile compared. However, there was a mixed response in the treated AHT group: the AR was significantly smaller than that of the controls for small quantiles, although it was similar or larger for larger quantiles. In addition, correlation analysis within the treated AHT group revealed that the smaller AR quantiles corresponded to the lowest MAP values (Pearson's
r = 0.45,
P = 0.020), that is, to the most intensively controlled hypertensives. Again, sex, SEQ, and BMI did not confound these associations. The use of the fifth/ninety-fifth percentile–based BP definitions resulted, again, in almost identical findings (data not shown).