Marianne Shahsuvaryan.
Vaso-occlusive disorder of the Central Retinal Vein: Urbanization Impact.
Ophthalmol Update Jan ;14(3):54-7.

Background: Vascular occlusion of the retinal vein is the most common cause of retinal vascular pathology after diabetic retinopathy with potential life-changing complications. Central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) is a major cause of sight loss and even blindness. Although it is more common in the middle-aged and elderly population, no age group is immune to it. Despite being recognized in the 19th century there are still gaps in understanding the etiology and pathogenesis of vasoocclusive disorder of the central retinal vein. This obviate the need for continued research on the subject and to identify patients location influence in central retinal vein occlusion. Methods: The study was a clinic-based case-control study included 408 patients with a clinical diagnosis of CRVO and 566 controls, all aged 21 years and older. A person was qualified as a control if he or she was free of retinal vascular diseases. Excluded from case and control groups were persons with severely myopia, vaso-proliferative retinopathy, and intermediate or posterior inflammatory disease. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to test potential interactions between the different variables. Results: It was found a significant positive association of CRVO with urban location and a significant inverse association with rural location in the screening analyses. In multivariate logistic regression analysis urban location, specifically in the capital, remains a risk factor for CRVO even after adjustment for age, sex and systemic disease (odd ratio 2.1; 95% confidence interval 1.44 to 3.11). The likely explanation for this factor is a significantly greater prevalence of systemic hypertension due to stress may exist among the urban population compared with rural population. Conclusions: The results from this case-control study suggest a relationship between CRVO and urban location. Our data support the potential value of increased awareness on CRVO and underlying systemic hypertension, medical treatment in preventing occurrence of retinal vaso-occlusion.

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