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Incidence of Retinal Vein Occlusion and Its Association with Mortality: Results from the Gutenberg Health Study
Anna Maria Voigt1, Hisham Elbaz2, Elsa Wilma Böhm1
1Department of Ophthalmology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
Purpose:
To determine the incidence of retinal vein occlusion (RVO) in the general population in Germany and analyze potential associations with ocular and systemic factors as well as with mortality.
Design:
Analysis of a prospective population-based cohort study.
Participants:
The Gutenberg Health Study is a population-based cohort study, including 15 010 participants 35 to 74 years of age. A total of 12 954 participants were included with a gradable fundus photograph at baseline. A total of 9305 participants at the 5-year-follow-up and 6428 participants at 10-year-follow-up had additional images.
Methods:
At baseline and the 5- and 10-year follow-up examinations, fundus photographs of the macula and the optic disc were obtained. At the 5- and 10-year follow-up, infrared images also were obtained. We evaluated these for RVO (branch RVO [BRVO] and central RVO [CRVO]). The cumulative 5-year- and 10-year-incidence was computed on a per-person level. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess associated factors and cox regression was performed to analyze its influence on mortality.
Main Outcome Measures:
Five-year and 10-year cumulative incidence of BRVO and CRVO.
Results:
The 5-year-cumulative-incidence was 0.35% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.25%-0.5%; n = 33) for BRVO and 0.043% (95% CI, 0.014-0.12%; n = 4) for CRVO. The 10-year cumulative incidence was 0.64% (95% CI, 0.46%-0.87%; n = 55) for BRVO and 0.14% (95% CI, 0.067%-0.27%; n = 12) for CRVO. Incidence of RVO was associated with older age (odds ratio, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.02-1.09; P < 0.001). An increased risk of mortality was noted in patients with RVO (BRVO: hazard ratio, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.08-3.0; P = 0.023; CRVO: hazard ratio, 3.83; 95% CI, 1.95-7.9; P < 0.001) after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors.
Conclusions:
This study described the incidence of RVO in a large European population-based cohort and is associated with an increased mortality after RVO.
Financial Disclosure(S):
Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.
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