An Association Between Large Optic Cupping and Total and Regional Brain Volume: The Women's Health Initiative.

Purpose: To investigate the relationships between optic nerve cupping and total and regional brain volumes.

Design: Secondary analysis of randomized clinical trial data.

Methods: Women 65 to 79 years of age without glaucoma with cup-to-disc ratio (CDR) measurements from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Sight Examination study and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based total and regional brain volumes from the WHI Memory Study MRI-1 were included.

The pupil constriction to light is associated with cognitive measures in middle-aged and older adults.

Aims: The evidence relating the pupil light reflex (PLR) and cognition have been inconsistent. In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated the association between the PLR and cognition in community-dwelling middle-aged and older individuals.

Methods: Pupil reactivity was recorded in a subgroup of 403 participants (mean age 60.

Association of Coding Variants in Hydroxysteroid 17-beta Dehydrogenase 14 () with Reduced Progression to End Stage Kidney Disease in Type 1 Diabetes.

Background: Rare variants in gene coding regions likely have a greater impact on disease-related phenotypes than common variants through disruption of their encoded protein. We searched for rare variants associated with onset of ESKD in individuals with type 1 diabetes at advanced kidney disease stage.

Methods: Gene-based exome array analyses of 15,449 genes in five large incidence cohorts of individuals with type 1 diabetes and proteinuria were analyzed for survival time to ESKD, testing the top gene in a sixth cohort (=2372/1115 events all cohorts) and replicating in two retrospective case-control studies (=1072 cases, 752 controls).

A systematic review and participant-level meta-analysis found little association of retinal microvascular caliber with reduced kidney function.

Previously, variation in retinal vascular caliber has been reported in association with chronic kidney disease (CKD) but findings remain inconsistent. To help clarify this we conducted individual participant data meta-analysis and aggregate data meta-analysis on summary estimates to evaluate cross-sectional associations between retinal vascular caliber and CKD. A systematic review was performed using Medline and EMBASE for articles published until October 2018.

Central arterial stiffness and retinal vessel calibers: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study-Neurocognitive Study.

Background: The retinal microvasculature provides a window to the cerebral vasculature and enables examination of changes in retinal caliber that may mimic those occurring in cerebrovascular disease. The association of central arterial stiffness and retinal vessel caliber in a population sample is not fully understood.

Methods: In 1706 older adults (mean age 76.

The association of retinal vessel calibres with heart failure and long-term alterations in cardiac structure and function: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study.

Aims: Narrower retinal arterioles and wider retinal venules have been associated with macrovascular forms of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, whether they are predictive of the development of heart failure (HF) independent of atherosclerotic CVD is unclear. We aimed to describe long-term associations of retinal vessel calibres with incident HF, in those with and without prevalent macrovascular disease, and how they relate to cardiac structure and function.

The Post-illumination Pupil Response (PIPR) Is Associated With Cognitive Function in an Epidemiologic Cohort Study.

We conducted a cross-sectional study on 403 participants in the 10-year follow-up examination of the Beaver Dam Offspring Study. The participants included 172 male and 231 female, with age ranging from 33 to 81 years (mean ± SD, 60.7 ± 9.

An Association Between Large Optic Nerve Cupping and Cognitive Function.

Purpose: To determine if a larger cup-to-disc ratio is associated with poor cognitive function in postmenopausal women without glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

Methods: We used data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) hormone trial, originally designed to test effects of hormone therapy (HT) on various health outcomes. Large cup-to-disc ratio was defined as greater than 0.

Long-term changes in retinal vascular diameter and cognitive impairment in type 1 diabetes.

Objective: To assess associations between cognitive impairment and longitudinal changes in retinal microvasculature, over 18 years, in adults with type 1 diabetes.

Research Design And Methods: Participants of the Pittsburgh Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications Study received ≥3 fundus photographs between baseline (1986-1988) and time of cognitive assessment (2010-2015: N = 119; 52% male; mean age and type 1 diabetes duration 43 and 34 years, respectively). Central retinal arteriolar equivalent and central retinal venular equivalent were estimated via computer-based methods; overall magnitude and speed of narrowing were quantified as cumulative average and slope, respectively.

Retinal microvascular signs and incidence of abdominal aortic aneurysm: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

Purpose: To test the hypothesis that retinal microvascular abnormalities known to predict other cardiovascular diseases are associated prospectively with risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm. The rationale is that aortic aneurysm involves small vessel pathology that parallels, to some degree, retinal vasculopathy.

Methods: In 1993-1995, the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study, a prospective population-based cohort, took retinal photographs of a randomly selected eye of 10,911 ARIC participants (initial mean age 60 years).

Generational Differences in the 5-Year Incidence of Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Importance: Whether a reported decline in the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) continued for people born during the Baby Boom years (1946-1964) or later is unknown. These data are important to plan for ocular health care needs in the 21st century.

Objectives: To determine whether the 5-year risk for AMD declined by generation and to identify factors that contributed to improvement in risk.

Discovery and replication of SNP-SNP interactions for quantitative lipid traits in over 60,000 individuals.

Background: The genetic etiology of human lipid quantitative traits is not fully elucidated, and interactions between variants may play a role. We performed a gene-centric interaction study for four different lipid traits: low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), and triglycerides (TG).

Results: Our analysis consisted of a discovery phase using a merged dataset of five different cohorts ( = 12,853 to  = 16,849 depending on lipid phenotype) and a replication phase with ten independent cohorts totaling up to 36,938 additional samples.

The period effect in the prevalence of proliferative diabetic retinopathy, gross proteinuria, and peripheral neuropathy in type 1 diabetes: A longitudinal cohort study.

Aims: To investigate whether, for a specific duration of type 1 diabetes, there is a significant change in the prevalence of proliferative diabetic retinopathy, gross proteinuria and peripheral neuropathy in those more recently diagnosed with diabetes (a period effect), in the Wisconsin Epidemiologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy. Where present, to determine how common risk factors for diabetic complications might be associated with it, and what might be driving it.

Materials And Methods: Longitudinal cohort study with seven examination phases between 1980 and 2014.

The Relation between Sleep Disruption and Cataract in a Large Population-Based Study.

Purpose: To investigate the relation between sleep disruption and nuclear cataract, as well as the impact of cataract removal on sleep, in two discrete population-based cohorts.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 5070 participants from three large longitudinal epidemiologic studies of age-related eye disease, hearing, olfaction, and cognition. Slit-lamp photos of the lens were obtained to grade nuclear cataract using a standardized protocol.

Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness and Characteristics Associated with Glaucoma in Community Living Older Adults: Prelude to a Screening Trial?

Purpose: To examine the associations of nerve fiber layer (NFL) thickness with other ocular characteristics in older adults.

Methods: Participants in the Beaver Dam Eye Study (2008-2010) underwent spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) scans of the optic nerve head, imaging of optic discs, frequency doubling technology (FDT) perimetry, measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP), and an interview concerning their history of glaucoma and use of drops to lower eye pressure. Self-reported histories of glaucoma and the use of drops to lower eye pressure were obtained at follow-up examinations (2014-2016).

Metformin in adults with type 1 diabetes: Design and methods of REducing with MetfOrmin Vascular Adverse Lesions (REMOVAL): An international multicentre trial.

Aims: Cardiovascular (CV) disease is a major cause of reduced life expectancy in type 1 diabetes (T1D). Intensive insulin therapy prevents CV complications but is constrained by hypoglycaemia and weight gain. Adjunct metformin reduces insulin dose requirement and stabilizes weight but there are no data on its cardiovascular effects.

Predictors of electrocardiographic abnormalities in type 1 Diabetes: the Wisconsin Epidemiologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy.

Purpose: To determine the incidence and determinants of developing abnormalities on the 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) in persons with type 1 diabetes.

Methods: We evaluated the distribution of ECG abnormalities and risk factors for developing new abnormalities in 266 (mean age = 44 years ± 9.0; 50 % female) people with type 1 diabetes from the Wisconsin Epidemiologic Study of Diabetic Retinopathy.

Age-Related Sensory Impairments and Risk of Cognitive Impairment.

Objectives: To evaluate the associations between sensory impairments and 10-year risk of cognitive impairment.

Design: The Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study (EHLS), a longitudinal, population-based study of aging in the Beaver Dam, Wisconsin community. Baseline examinations were conducted in 1993 and follow-up examinations have been conducted every 5 years.

Adequate vitamin D status is associated with the reduced odds of prevalent diabetic retinopathy in African Americans and Caucasians.

Background: Vitamin D status has been hypothesized to protect against development of diabetic retinopathy via its anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenic properties. Additionally, in vitro and in vivo studies suggest vitamin D favorably influences blood pressure and blood glucose control, strong risk factors for diabetic retinopathy. We examined the association between vitamin D status and prevalent diabetic retinopathy in participants with diabetes from a population-based cohort.

Sex-Specific Association of Obstructive Sleep Apnea With Retinal Microvascular Signs: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common condition affecting more men than women. The relationship of OSA with microvascular disease is unclear, complicated by possible sex difference. Assessment of the relationship of OSA with retinal microvascular signs in men and women may provide insights into such a relationship.