Background: Hypertension might be a modifiable risk factor for neurodegeneration diseases. However, the associations between blood pressure (BP), arterial stiffness index and retinal neurodegeneration remain unclear.
Methods: This study used cross-sectional data from the United Kingdom BioBank (UKB) and longitudinal data from the Chinese Ocular Imaging Project (COIP). The macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer thickness (mGCIPLT) and macular retinal nerve fiber layer thickness were measured using spectral domain optical coherence tomography imaging. Swept-source optical coherence tomography was performed to obtain the longitudinal trajectory of the mGCIPLT and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in the COIP cohort. Multivariable linear models were used to analyze the associations between BP and retinal measurements.
Results: In a cross-sectional analysis of 22 801 participants from UKB, thinner mGCIPLT was related to higher systolic BP (β: -0.103 [-0.146 to -0.061]; P<0.001), and higher diastolic BP (β: -0.191 [-0.265 to -0.117]; P<0.001), and was significantly associated with higher mean arterial pressure (β: -0.174 [-0.238 to -0.109]; P<0.001) and higher mean pulse pressure (β: -0.080 [-0.139 to -0.020]; P=009). In a longitudinal analysis of 2012 eligible COIP participants, higher levels of baseline systolic BP, diastolic BP, mean arterial pressure, and mean pulse pressure were associated with faster thinning in mGCIPLT and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (all P<0.001). The strongest association was the effect of mean arterial pressure on mGCIPLT (β: -0.118 [-0.175 to -0.061]; P<0.001). The results of the analysis of macular retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness were consistent with those of mGCIPLT.
Conclusions: BP levels were independently and consistently associated with various retinal neurodegenerative exacerbations.
Keywords: blood pressure; cohort studies; optical coherence; retinal layers; retinal neurodegeneration.