Effects of acute bouts of endurance exercise on retinal vessel diameters are age and intensity dependent

Abstract

Alterations of retinal vessel diameters are associated with increased cardiovascular risk. We aimed to investigate changes in retinal vessel diameters in response to acute dynamic exercise of different intensities and whether these changes are age dependent. Seventeen healthy seniors (median (IQR) age 68 (65, 69) years) and 15 healthy young adults (median (IQR) age 26 (25, 28) years) first performed a maximal treadmill test (MTT) followed by a submaximal treadmill test (SMTT) and a resting control condition in randomised order. Central retinal arteriolar (CRAE) and central retinal venular (CRVE) diameter equivalents were measured before as well as 5 (t5) and 40 (t40) minutes after exercise cessation using a static retinal vessel analyser. Both exercise intensities induced a significant dilatation in CRAE and CRVE at t5 compared to the control condition (P < 0.001). At t40, the mean increase in CRAE and CRVE was greater for MTT compared to that for SMTT (CRAE 1.7 μm (95 % confidence interval (CI) −0.1, 3.6; P = 0.061); CRVE 2.2 μm (95 % CI 0.4, 4.1; P = 0.019)). However, the estimated difference at t5 between seniors and young adults in their response to MTT compared to SMTT was 5.3 μm (95 % CI 2.0, 8.5; P = 0.002) for CRAE and 4.1 μm (95 % CI −0.4, 8.6; P = 0.076) for CRVE. Wider arteries and veins after maximal versus submaximal exercise for seniors compared to young adults suggest that myogenic vasoconstriction in response to exhaustive exercise may be reduced in seniors. Age-related loss of vascular reactivity has clinical implications since the arteriolar vasoconstriction protects the retinal capillary bed from intraluminal pressure peaks.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11357-014-9650-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Frequent physical activity is associated with reduced risk of severe diabetic retinopathy in type 1 diabetes

“…In such patients, intensive exercise and the increase in blood pressure may lead to retinal damage due to even further impaired autoregulation. On the other hand, further studies are needed to assess whether physical activity and potential hemodynamic adaptations could lead to improved vascular reactivity [17]. The finding regarding the potential benefit of frequent physical activity is also in line with the current ADA recommendations for physical activity in individuals with type 1 diabetes [15].…”

Aerobic fitness, but not physical activity, is associated with grey matter volume in adolescents

“…Age has been suggested to influence the physiological responses to exercise. Several studies have reported age-related differences in exercise responses [25][26][27][28]. Supporting these human studies, animal models also indicate that age-related responses to exercise can be seen in cognition [29,30], in BDNF [30], and in microvascular function [31].…”

Shifts in retinal vessel diameter and oxygen saturation in Chinese type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

“…The retinal vessels offer a unique and easily accessible window through which to study human microcirculation in health and disease. As an important physiological parameter, the retinal vessel diameter has been found to alter in various diseases [ 24 – 27 ], as well as to change with age and exercise intensities [ 28 , 29 ]. Researchers have proposed retinal vessel diameter as a biomarker with which to determine the risk and progress of cardiovascular disease [ 30 – 33 ].…”