Retinal Vascular Measurements and Mortality Risk: Evidence From the UK Biobank Study

Mayinuer Yusufu, Yutong Chen, Alimu Dayimu, Gabriella Bulloch, Shanshan Jin, Algis J. Vingrys, Lei Zhang, Xianwen Shang, Danli Shi, Mingguang He

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the association between quantitative retinal vascular measurements and the risk of all-cause and premature mortality. Methods: In this population-based cohort study using the UK Biobank data, we employed the Retina-based Microvascular Health Assessment System to assess fundus images for image quality and extracted 392 retinal vascular measurements per fundus image. These measurements encompass six categories of vascular features: caliber, density, length, tortuosity, branching angle, and complexity. Univariate Cox regression models were used to identify potential indicators of mortality risk using data on all-cause and premature mortality from death registries. Multivariate Cox regression models were then used to test these associations while controlling for confounding factors. Results: The final analysis included 66,415 participants. After adjusting for demographic, health, and lifestyle factors and genetic risk score, 18 and 10 retinal vascular measurements were significantly associated with all-cause mortality and premature mortality, respectively. In the fully adjusted model, the following measurements of different vascular features were significantly associated with all-cause mortality and premature mortality: arterial bifurcation density (branching angle), number of arterial segments (complexity), interquartile range and median absolute deviation of arterial curve angle (tortuosity), mean and median values of mean pixel widths of all arterial segments in each image (caliber), skeleton density of arteries in macular area (density), and minimum venular arc length (length). Conclusions: The study revealed 18 retinal vascular measurements significantly associated with all-cause mortality and 10 associated with premature mortality. Those identi-fied parameters should be further studied for biological mechanisms connecting them to increased mortality risk. Translational Relevance: This study identifies retinal biomarkers for increased mortality risk and provides novel targets for investigating the underlying biological mecha-nisms.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2
Number of pages12
JournalTranslational Vision Science and Technology
Volume13
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2024

Keywords

  • microvasculature quantification
  • mortality
  • retina image
  • retinal vascular measurements

Cite this