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Updated: May 8, 2026

An Assay to Detect Protection of the Retinal Vasculature from Diabetes-Related Death in Mice
Published on: January 12, 2024
Vitamin D deficiency is not associated with changes in retinal geometric parameters in young people with type 1
Myra Poon1, Maria E Craig, Harleen Kaur
1Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetes, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Locked Bag 4001, Westmead, NSW 2145, Australia. myra.poon@health.nsw.gov.au
Abstract:
Changes in retinal geometric parameters predict risk and progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR). We have shown that vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is associated with DR. We hypothesized that VDD mediates changes in retinal geometric parameters. Retinal vascular geometric parameters were assessed using a semiautomated computer program in photographs from young people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) (n = 481) and summarized as central retinal arteriolar and venular equivalents (CRAE, CRVE), fractal dimension, length-diameter ratio, branching angle and curvature tortuosity. Parameters were compared between those with and without DR and VDD (25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration ≤ 50 nmol/L). Retinal vascular geometric parameters were also compared across quartiles of vitamin D levels. Median CRVE was higher in patients with DR compared with those without (median (IQR) CRVE 247.3 μ m (31.3) versus 238.8 μ m (23.5), P = 0.01). Fractal dimension was marginally greater in patients without VDD (1.49 (0.06) versus 1.47 (0.07) P = 0.03). There was no difference in CRAE, CRVE, length-diameter ratio, branching angle, and curvature tortuosity between those with and without VDD and across quartiles of 25OHD. In conclusion, DR is associated with higher CRVE in young people with T1D; however, VDD is not associated with changes in retinal vascular geometric measures, suggesting an earlier role in the time course of DR pathogenesis.
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