Association of retinal venular tortuosity with impaired renal function in the Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Abstract Background Previous studies have identified retinal microvascular features associated with renal dysfunction. Biopsies are necessary to confirm kidney microvascular damage and retinal imaging may enable evaluation of microangiopathic characteristics reflecting renal changes associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We evaluated retinal microvascular parameters (RMPs) for associations with renal function in a cross-sectional analysis of the Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Methods RMPs (central retinal arteriolar/ venular equivalents [CRAE/CRVE], arteriolar to venular ratio [AVR], fractal dimension and tortuosity) were measured from optic disc centred fundus images using semi-automated software. Associations were assessed with multivariable regression analyses between RMPs and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) defined by serum creatinine (eGFRscr) and cystatin C (eGFRcys) and also CKD status characterised by eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73m 2 . Regression models were adjusted for potential confounders including age, sex, diabetes, smoking status, educational attainment, cardiovascular disease, body mass index, antihypertensive medication, systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, high- and low-density lipoprotein levels. Results Data were included for 1860 participants that had measures of renal function and retinal fundus images of sufficient quality for analysis. Participants had a mean age of 62.0 ± 8.5 yrs. and 53% were female. The mean eGFR for scr and cys were 82.2 ± 14.9 mL/min/1.73m 2 and 70.7 ± 18.6 mL/min/1.73m 2 respectively. eGFRcys provided lower estimates than eGFRscr resulting in a greater proportion of participants categorised as having CKD stages 3–5 (eGFRcys 26.8%; eGFRscr 7.9%). Multivariable regression analyses showed that increased venular tortuosity (OR = 1.30; 95%CI: 1.10, 1.54; P < 0.01) was associated with CKD stages 3–5 characterised by eGFRscr < 60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 . No additional associations between CKD status characterised by eGFRscr or with eGFRcys, were detected ( P > 0.05). Multivariable regression failed to detect associations between CRAE, CRVE, AVR, fractal dimension or tortuosity and eGFRscr or eGFRcys ( P > 0.05). Conclusion Increased retinal venular tortuosity was associated with CKD stages 3–5 defined by eGFRscr < 60 mL/min/1.73 m 2 , in an older population independent of potential confounding factors. These retinal measures may provide non-invasive microvascular assessment of associations with CKD.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.001 | 0.002 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.002 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".