Retinal arteriolar narrowing increases the likelihood of chronic kidney disease in hypertension

Abstract

Background Retinal arteriolar narrowing is a marker of chronic microvascular damage from hypertension. We hypothesized that the presence of retinal arteriolar narrowing increases the likelihood of chronic kidney disease (CKD) associated with hypertension. Methods We examined 3602 persons of Chinese, Malay and Indian ethnicities, aged at least 24 years residing in Singapore. CKD was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate of less than 60ml/min per 1.73 m2. Hypertension was defined as SBP of at least 140 mmHg or DBP of at least 90 mmHg or self-reported physician-diagnosed hypertension. Retinal arteriolar caliber was measured from retinal photographs and summarized. The lowest arteri..