Measurement of retinal function with flash-electroretinography in Chinese patients with hyperlipidemia

We used flash electroretinography (F-ERG) to determine if retinal function was impaired in patients with hyperlipidemia, including visual acuity and fundus morphological changes, and to identify predictors of impaired retinal function in hyperlipidemia patients.

This was a prospective case-control study (Shanghai, China; February 2011 to January 2012) in 696 hyperlipidemia patients and 136 healthy controls. Exclusion criteria included best-corrected visual acuity <0.6, previous intraocular surgery, and chronic comorbidities. Each participant underwent a comprehensive series of ophthalmologic examinations, and standard F-ERG examination. Data were analyzed using t-tests and multivariate analysis.

Six hundred and twenty-six hyperlipidemia patients (57.69 ± 14.01 years; 59.58% female) and 120 healthy controls (55.13 ± 14.03 years; 60% female) were included in the final analysis. After adjustment for age and gender using multivariate covariance analysis, F-ERG result revealed significantly lower response amplitudes in the hyperlipidemia group (P < 0.05), and longer implicit times (P < 0.05) than the control group. F-ERG parameters were significantly different between the two groups. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis showed that serum LDL levels (P < 0.001), BMI (P < 0.001), duration of hyperlipidemia (P < 0.001), and serum HDL levels (P = 0.03) were negatively correlated with ΣOps.

The present study suggests that the retinal function of hyperlipidemia patients was significantly lower than in healthy controls, even before the occurrence of pathological changes in the fundus.