Associations with retinal vascular occlusions in a diverse, urban population

Retinal vascular occlusions can lead to sudden and permanent visual impairment or blindness. Few epidemiological studies on retinal vascular occlusions have been conducted, especially on diverse populations.

This is a retrospective case-control study of all incident retinal vascular occlusions occurring during a three and one-half year study period at Montefiore Medical Center, capturing all potential cases by diagnosis codes. Patients with retinal venous occlusions (RVO) and retinal arterial occlusions (RAO) were analyzed separately and compared to age-matched control groups.

All potential charts (n = 700) were reviewed, confirming 214 RVO and 35 RAO incident cases. In multivariable analyses, RVO was associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (OR 2.41, p < 0.001), history of cerebrovascular accident (OR 2.14, p = 0.011), hypertension (OR 1.83, p = 0.004), glaucoma (OR 6.91, p < 0.001), black race (OR 3.72, p < 0.001), and male gender (OR 2.19 p < 0.001). RAO was significantly associated with current and former smoking combined (OR 8.95, p = 0.021) and male gender (OR 2.56, p = 0.038).

Cardiovascular risk factors and glaucoma are reaffirmed as significant predictors of retinal vascular occlusions in a diverse patient population. Retinal vascular occlusions are more common in certain races and ethnicities, and further study into this may help identify high-risk individuals based on demographics.