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Meta-Analysis
. 2013;8(2):e52708.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0052708. Epub 2013 Feb 6.

Obesity and the microvasculature: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Adrien Boillot  1 , Sophia Zoungas, Paul Mitchell, Ronald Klein, Barbara Klein, Mohammad Kamran Ikram, Caroline Klaver, Jie Jin Wang, Bamini Gopinath, E Shyong Tai, Aljoscha Steffen Neubauer, Serge Hercberg, Laima Brazionis, Seang-Mei Saw, Tien-Yin Wong, Sébastien Czernichow; META-EYE Study Group
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Obesity and the microvasculature: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Adrien Boillot et al. PLoS One. 2013.

Abstract

Background: Overweight and obesity are thought to significantly influence a person's risk of cardiovascular disease, possibly via its effect on the microvasculature. Retinal vascular caliber is a surrogate marker of microvascular disease and a predictor of cardiovascular events. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the association between body mass index (BMI) and retinal vascular caliber.

Methods and findings: Relevant studies were identified by searches of the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases from 1966 to August 2011. Standardized forms were used for data extraction. Among over 44,000 individuals, obese subjects had narrower arteriolar and wider venular calibers when compared with normal weight subjects, independent of conventional cardiovascular risk factors. In adults, a 1 kg/m(2) increase in BMI was associated with a difference of 0.07 μm [95% CI: -0.08; -0.06] in arteriolar caliber and 0.22 μm [95% CI: 0.21; 0.23] in venular caliber. Similar results were found for children.

Conclusions: Higher BMI is associated with narrower retinal arteriolar and wider venular calibers. Further prospective studies are needed to examine whether a causative relationship between BMI and retinal microcirculation exists.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flow-chart identifying eligible studies.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Adjusted adult mean retinal vascular values across BMI categories (maximum level of adjustment. CRAE (A); CRVE (B)).
Figure 3
Figure 3. Association between overweight (BMI between 25.0 and 29.9 kg/m2) and CRAE (A), and CRVE (B) in adults (maximum level of adjustment).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Association between obesity (BMI >30.0 kg/m2) and CRAE (A), and CRVE (B) in adults (maximum level of adjustment).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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