Sex differences in risk factors for retinopathy in non-diabetic men and women:The Tromsø Eye Study

• Published in: Acta Ophthalmologica
• Main Authors: Bertelsen, G., Peto, T., Lindekleiv, H., Schirmer, H., Solbu, M. D., Toft, I., Sjolie, A. K., Njolstad, I.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: blood pressure; cardiovascular disease; epidemiology; hypertension; microalbuminuria; prevalence; retinopathy; risk factors; urinary albumin excretion; Albuminuria/epidemiology; Humans; Middle Aged; Male; Chromatography; High Pressure Liquid; Aged; 80 and over; Adult; Female; Surveys and Questionnaires; Blood Pressure/physiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Blood Glucose/metabolism; Norway/epidemiology; Hypertension/epidemiology; Retinal Diseases/epidemiology; Sex Factors; Glycated Hemoglobin A/metabolism; Norway; Tromso; Tromsø
• Online Access: https://portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/da/publications/a196cd7a-88fb-40bd-9baf-fd96f13d7149; https://doi.org/10.1111/aos.12199

Purpose: To determine the prevalence and risk factors for retinopathy in a nondiabetic population. Methods: The study population included 5869 participants without diabetes aged 38-87years from the TromsO Eye Study, a substudy of the population-based TromsO Study in Norway. Retinal images from both eyes were graded for retinopathy. We collected data on risk factors from self-report questionnaires, clinical examinations, laboratory measurements and case note reviews. The cross-sectional relationship between potential risk factors and retinopathy was assessed using logistic regression analysis. Results: The overall prevalence of retinopathy was 14.8%. Men had a higher prevalence of retinopathy compared with women (15.9% versus 14.0%, p=0.04). In men, retinopathy was associated with hypertension (odds ratio [OR], 1.59; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24-2.04) and HbA1c (OR per %, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.01-1.96). In women, retinopathy was associated with age (OR per 10years, 1.32; 95% CI, 1.14-1.52), log-transformed urinary albumin excretion (OR per log unit, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.14-1.87) and hypertension (OR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.08-1.71). In women, retinopathy was associated with very low levels of urinary albumin excretion (urinary albumin/creatinine ratio >0.43mg/mmol). Conclusion: This study confirms results from previous studies on the strong association between blood pressure and retinopathy. A novel finding is the sex differences in risk factors for retinopathy, suggesting a sex difference in the pathogenesis leading to retinopathy. Purpose: To determine the prevalence and risk factors for retinopathy in a nondiabetic population. Methods: The study population included 5869 participants without diabetes aged 38-87 years from the Tromsø Eye Study, a substudy of the population-based Tromsø Study in Norway. Retinal images from both eyes were graded for retinopathy. We collected data on risk factors from self-report questionnaires, clinical examinations, laboratory measurements and case note reviews. The cross-sectional ...