Relationship of ideal cardiovascular health metrics with retinal vessel calibers and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness: a cross-sectional study

Background Ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics have been found to be associated with subclinical vascular abnormalities. However, the relationship between ideal CVH metrics and retinal vessel calibers and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in a Chinese population is unknown. Methods We collected information on the seven ideal CVH metrics among 3376 participants aged 40 years or older from the Asymptomatic Polyvascular Abnormalities Community Study in 2012. Retinal vessel calibers and RNFL thickness were assessed by retinal photography and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Multivariable linear models were used to analyze the relationship between ideal CVH metrics and retinal parameters. Results With the decreased number of ideal CVH metrics, central retinal arteriolar equivalents (CRAE) was significantly narrowed and arterio- venous ratio (AVR) significantly decreased ( p < 0.0001). While the RNFL thickness and central retinal venous equivalents (CRVE) showed no significant changes with the decreased ideal CVH metrics. Linear regression showed that both CRAE and AVR was positively related with the number of ideal CVH metrics (regression coefficient beta: 0.806, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.266–1.346 for CRAE (micron); and regression coefficient beta: 0.005, 95% CI: 0.002–0.009 for AVR) after adjusting for age (year), sex = male (n), education (n), average monthly income (¥) and other related risk factors. Conclusions These findings suggested a clear positive relationship between the number of ideal CVH metrics and CRAE and AVR in Chinese population, supporting the importance of ideal health behaviors and factors in subclinical vascular abnormalities prevention.