Artery Research

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Volume 4, Issue 4, December 2010, Pages 148 - 148

5.4 HERITABILITY OF RETINAL PHENOTYPES IN A EUROPEAN POPULATION

Authors
T. Richart1, 2, M. Bochud3, L. Thijs2, Y. Jin2, *, T. Kuznetsova2, H.A.J. Struijker-Boudier4, J.A. Staessen1, 2
1Genetic Epidemiology Unit, Department of Epidemiology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
2Studies Coordinating Centre, Division of Hypertension and Cardiovascular Rehabilitation, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
3Community Prevention Unit, University Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, Lausanne, Switzerland
4Department of Pharmacology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
*Corresponding author.
Corresponding Author
Y. Jin
Available Online 2 December 2010.
DOI
10.1016/j.artres.2010.10.175How to use a DOI?
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license.

Background: The retinal arterioles and venules are accessible for non-invasive visualisation, hereby providing a means to study the early structural changes and pathological features of the microcirculation. To our knowledge, the heritability of these phenotypes has not yet been assessed in a general European population.

Methods: Nuclear families were randomly recruited from a Flemish (Caucasian) population. Phenotyping was performed using a non-mydriatic digital camera (Canon Cr-DGi, Canon, Tokyo, Japan), and images were post-processed using validated software (IVAN, as used in the ARIC study) to generate central retinal arteriole (CRAE) and venule (CRVE) equivalents. The arteriole-to-venule ratio (AVR) was calculated according to the Parr-Hubbard formula. Heritability was assessed with the ASSOC-program (S.A.G.E. [2009] Statistical Analysis for Genetic Epidemiology, Release 6.0.1: http://darwin.cwru.edu/). Sex and age were considered as covariables.

Results: Mean age of the participants was 46.7±7.6 years, with 50.3% women. The current analysis included 167 pedigree members and 24 singletons. In unadjusted models, heritability was 0.33 for CRAE, 0.18 for CRVE and 0.35 for AVR (p for all <0.0001). In models accounting for sex and age, heritability was 0 for CRAE, 0.39 for CRVE (p<0.0001) and 0.25 for AVR (p<0.0001)

Discussion: The heritability of retinal phenotypes was moderate. These findings suggest that genetic factors play a relevant role in the structure of the microcirculation. Further research is needed to identify which genes are associated with these phenotypes.

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Journal
Artery Research
Volume-Issue
4 - 4
Pages
148 - 148
Publication Date
2010/12/02
ISSN (Online)
1876-4401
ISSN (Print)
1872-9312
DOI
10.1016/j.artres.2010.10.175How to use a DOI?
Open Access
This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license.

Cite this article

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TY  - JOUR
AU  - T. Richart
AU  - M. Bochud
AU  - L. Thijs
AU  - Y. Jin
AU  - T. Kuznetsova
AU  - H.A.J. Struijker-Boudier
AU  - J.A. Staessen
PY  - 2010
DA  - 2010/12/02
TI  - 5.4 HERITABILITY OF RETINAL PHENOTYPES IN A EUROPEAN POPULATION
JO  - Artery Research
SP  - 148
EP  - 148
VL  - 4
IS  - 4
SN  - 1876-4401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.artres.2010.10.175
DO  - 10.1016/j.artres.2010.10.175
ID  - Richart2010
ER  -