Abstract:

Objective To quantitatively describe the population, age and gender distribution of retinal vascular diameters in elderly population in Beijing. Design Cross-sectional study.  Participants Baseline population of Beijing Eye Study. Methods Quantitative measurement software (Singapore I Vessel Assessment, SIVA 3.0) was used to measure the parameters of retinal vascular diameters on zone B and zone C in color fundus photographs from 3901 subjects. One eye of each participant was randomly selected. The region from 0.5 to 1 PD away from the disc margin is zone B, 0.5~2 PD away from the disc margin is zone C. Main Outcome Measures Central retinal artery equivalent(CRAE), central retinal vein equivalent (CRVE), arteriole-to-venular ratio(AVR), mean width arteriole(MWa), mean width venule (MWv), standard deviation width arteriole (STDWa) and standard deviation width venule (STDWv), length-diameter ratio arteriole (LDRa) and length-diameter ratio venule (LDRv). Results In this study, the average CRAE, CRVE and AVR in zone B of 3901 elderly people was （165.45±12.80）μm, （238.66±18.68）μm and 0.70±0.06, respectively; these parameters in zone C was（165.53±11.98）μm, （241.54±17.83）μm and 0.69±0.05, respectively. The CRAE and CRVE in different age groups were significantly different (all P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in AVR among all age groups (all P>0.05). The CRAE of men was narrower than women (all P<0.05), the CRVE in zone C was significantly wider (P=0.002) and the AVR was smaller (P=0.000). MWa and STDWa in zone C was （89.83±6.55）μm and 5.04±0.61, respectively. MWa and STDWa in zone B was（89.72±6.82）μm and 4.93±0.61, respectively. MWv and STDWv in zone C was （102.31±8.23）μm and 4.90±0.54, respectively. MWv and STDWv in zone B was（101.24±8.20）μm and 4.89±0.58, respectively. MWa and MWv were not different among all age groups (all P>0.05), but the STDWa and STDWv were different significantly (all P<0.05). The MWa and STDWa, STDWv in zone C of men were narrower than those of women (all P<0.05). The LDRa and LDRv of elderly people with age of 40+ years was 13.246±7.510 and 11.798±7.071, respectively. There was no significant difference in LDRa and LDRv among different age and gender groups (all P>0.05). Conclusion The AVR was about 0.69 (close to 2: 3) in elderly population with age of 40+ years in Beijing. Increased with age, central retinal artery and vein were tapered. AVR, MWa, MWv, LDRa and LDRv were all stable, but the MWa and MWv were different between individuals. Men's arteries were thinner than women's and the AVR was smaller. (Ophthalmol CHN, 2018, 27: 246-253)

Key words: retinal vessels, morphology, vascular diameter