[Correlation between retinal artery atherosclerosis and renal dysfunction in non-diabetic urban subjects aged over 40...

To evaluate the correlation between retinal artery atherosclerosis and renal dysfunction and compare their risk factors in an urban population of Beijing.

The non-diabetic adults > 40 years old undergoing annual physical examinations during June 2010 and February 2011 at one medical center were evaluated. Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated between retinal artery atherosclerosis and renal dysfunction. The analyses of multivariate Logistic regression were performed to compare the risk factors of these two diseases.

Among 10 191 subjects included, retinal artery atherosclerosis was diagnosed in 1287 (12.6%) and renal dysfunction in 434 (4.3%). And 1.0% of subjects had both two diseases versus 12.2% with retinal artery atherosclerosis alone and 3.3% with renal dysfunction alone. Correlation coefficient was low between two diseases (r = 0.21; P < 0.01). According to the analyses of multivariate Logistic regression, the strongest predictors of retinal artery atherosclerosis were obesity (OR = 2.5, 95%CI 2.0 - 3.2) and hypertension (OR = 2.2, 95%CI 2.0 - 2.6) while advanced age (OR = 3.1, 95%CI 2.8 - 3.5 per 10 year increment) was the strongest factor for renal dysfunction.

The low-level correlation and different risk factor profiles between retinal artery atherosclerosis and renal dysfunction indicate different pathogenic mechanisms of two diseases and suggest different preventive strategies.