Prevalence and risk factors of retinal vein occlusion: the Gutenberg Health Study

Abstract

Summary. Objective: To determine the age-and sex-specific prevalence and determinants of retinal vein occlusions (RVOs) in a large population-based German cohort. Methods: The investigation included 15 010 participants (aged 35-74 years) from the Gutenberg Health Study. We determined the prevalence of RVO (central retinal vein occlusion [CRVO] and branch retinal vein occlusion [BRVO]) for the local population by assessing fundus photographs of 12 954 (86.3%; 49.8% women and 50.2% men) participants. Further, we analyzed the associations of RVO with cardiovascular, anthropometric, and ophthalmic parameters. Results: The weighted prevalences of RVO, CRVO, and BRVO were 0.40%, 0.08%, and 0.32%, respectively. Men were 1.7 times more frequently affected by RVO than were women. Prevalence of RVO was 0.2% in participants aged 35-44 and 45-54 years, respectively, 0.48% in those aged 55-64 years, and 0.92% in those aged 65-74 years. Of persons with RVO, 91.5% had one or more cardiovascular risk factor or disease vs. 75.9% of persons without RVO. BRVO was associated with arterial hypertension (odds ratio 2.69, 95% confidence interval 1.27-5.70) and atrial fibrillation (3.37, 1.24-9.12) and CRVO with higher age (7.02, 1.63-30.19) and a family history of stroke (4.64, 1.18-18.25). Median visual acuity (base 10 logarithm of minimum angle of resolution) was 0.2 in persons with RVO vs. 0.05 in those without. Conclusion: The prevalence of RVO in this German population was 0.4%, and men were 1.7 times more frequently affected than women. CRVO was associated with higher age and a family history of stroke, and BRVO was associated with arterial hypertension and atrial fibrillation.

Clinical study of branch retinal vein occlusion

“…6,7 BRVO typically occurs in the middle aged and elderly patients (>50 yrs) with male predominance. [8][9][10][11][12] The predominant risk factors are cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, primary glaucoma and hyperlipidaemia. [7][8][9][10][11] Hypertension being the predominant risk factor among cardiovascular diseases.…”

Prevalence of Retinal Vein Occlusion in Europe: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…The prevalence of RVO by age could not be investigated in more detail because of a lack of reported data. Three of the 4 studies included in the analysis also reported the observed proportion of central RVO [32, 36], ranging from 15 to 25%. Prevalence of bilateral RVO was only reported in the GHS in 3.4% of participants (2 subjects with branch RVO) [36].…”

“…The prevalence of RVO in Europe ranged from 0.5% (Gutenberg Health Study [GHS], Germany, mean age 55.0 years) [36] to 1.1% (Antioxydants, Lipides Essentiels, Nutrition et Maladies Oculaires [ALIENOR] study, France, mean age 79.8 years) [35]. The prevalence of RVO by age could not be investigated in more detail because of a lack of reported data.…”

“…The original data from the European Eye Study (EUREYE) and Rotterdam Eye Study (RES) were not available but could be obtained from the pooled analysis by Rogers et al [32]. Prevalence data from 9 different European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Greece, Norway, Estonia and the Netherlands) were available in the 4 reports [32, 35, 36]. The articles report data obtained between 1990 and 2008 (Table 3).…”

“…After screening of titles and abstracts, a total of 35 full-text articles were reviewed. Four studies met the inclusion criteria for quantitative synthesis [32, 35, 36]. All studies used manual grading of fundus photographs with angles between 30° and 45° for diagnosis.…”