Next time you’re checking your patient’s retinal health, you might
want to see what’s going on with their brain, too. The width of retinal
blood vessels may indicate brain health and cognitive function long
before dementia or other deficits present themselves, according to a
study in Psychological Science.
Because retinal blood vessels share similar size, structure and
function with the blood vessels in the brain, researchers used digital
retinal imaging to investigate vascular conditions in the brain.
Psychological scientists at Duke University examined data from more than
1,000 people, and found that patients with wider retinal venules were
associated with lower IQ scores, even after accounting for various
health, lifestyle and environmental risk factors. In addition, subjects
with wider retinal venules also showed evidence of general cognitive
deficits, with lower scores on numerous measures of neuropsychological
functioning.
The researchers suggest that digital retinal imaging may expand
beyond eye care and serve as an investigative tool for psychological
scientists studying the link between intelligence and health across the
lifespan.
Shaley I, Moffitt TE, Wong TY, et al. Retinal vessel
caliber and lifelong neuropsychological functioning: retinal imaging as
an investigative tool for cognitive epidemiology. Psychol Sci. 2013 May
15.
