Risk Factors for Retinal Vascular Changes in Children and Pregnant Women

Abstract

We aimed to examine risk factors associated with changes in retinal microvasculature in Singapore children and pregnant women. Two cross-sectional studies on children (4-16 years) and pregnant women (18-46 years) were included in this thesis. Systemic factors, ocular biometric factors and psychosocial factors were investigated their individual relations to retinal vascular parameters. In both children and pregnant women, elevated blood pressure and greater body mass index were significantly associated with retinal arteriolar narrowing and/or retinal venular widening. Longer axial length and greater corneal curvature were associated with retinal arteriolar and venular narrowing in children. Negative antenatal emotions such as depressive symptoms and poor sleep quality were associated with retinal arteriolar widening in pregnant women. Our study identified a range of risk factors which were associated with changes in retinal microvasculature, and also provided evidence that hypertension and obesity in childhood and in mid-term pregnancy were associated with subclinical vascular changes.