The following is a summary of “Association between cardiovascular health and retinopathy in US adults: From NHANES 2005-2008,” published in the May 2024 issue of Ophthalmology by Liu et al.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study correlating cardiovascular health (CVH) and retinopathy in the adult population of the U.S,

They used NHANES data (2005-2008, n=4,249) to evaluate CVH with Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) and linked it to retinopathy through professional imaging assessments. Various regression models and mediation analyses, such as restricted cubic splines (RCS), Subgroup analysis, and weighted quantile sum (WQS), explored the relationship between LE8 scores, retinopathy, and serum albumin levels.

The results showed that in a fully adjusted model, participants with moderate and high CVH had 39% (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.43-0.87, P=0.01) and 56% (OR 0.44, 05% CI 0.25-0.77, P<0.001) lower odds of retinopathy. RCS showed a significant non-linear CVH-retinopathy link. The WQS assessment found blood glucose (47.65%) and blood pressure (19.41%) to be the most influential. Serum albumin partially mediated the LE8-retinopathy relationship.

Investigators concluded that better CVH, measured by LE8 scores, is linked to less retinopathy. Promoting good heart health could lower the risk of microvascular diseases.

Source: ajo.com/article/S0002-9394(24)00223-X/fulltext#%20