Association Between Blood Pressure and Retinal Vessel Diameters Among Police Officers in the Northeastern U.S

Details

• Personal Author:
  Andrew, Michael E. ; Baughman, Penelope ; Charles LE ; Gu JK ; Ma CC ; Violanti JM
• Description:
  Purpose: Elevated blood pressure (BP), a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality, may be a consequence of unpredictable, stressful, and strenuous working environments. Elevated BP has been shown to be significantly associated with narrowing in retinal microvasculature in population-based studies. We examined the relationship between blood pressure and retinal microvascular diameter among police officers in the northeastern US. Methods: In the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress Study (2012-2016), retinal microvasculature was measured with two computerized retinal images of each eye. The central retinal arteriolar equivalents (CRAE) and central retinal venular equivalents (CRVE) are based on average values for each eye. The exposures were hypertension status (no hypertension, controlled hypertension with antihypertensive medication, and uncontrolled hypertension regardless of medication usage) and mean arterial blood pressure (MABP). Mean values of CRAE and CRVE were compared across categories of hypertension status using ANOVA and ANCOVA after adjustment for age, gender, race/ethnicity, smoking status, waist circumference, diabetes status, and white blood cell count. Associations of MABP with CRAE and with CRVE were obtained using multiple regression models. Results: The average age of the 242 officers (73.1% men) who participated was 48.7 years and the prevalence of hypertension was 31.8%. Among officers with hypertension, 77.9% were taking medication. Mean CRAE was significantly narrower in police officers with uncontrolled hypertension (142.8 +/- 2.7 µm) as compared with those with controlled hypertension (153.6 +/- 2.7 µm, p=0.0013) and no hypertension (156.4 +/- 1.0 µm, p=0.0001). CRAE decreased by 3.43 µm for each 5 mmHG increase in MABP (p=0.0001). CRVE was not significantly associated with hypertension status or MABP. Conclusion: Increased narrowing in retinal arteriolar diameter with uncontrolled hypertension and the inverse association of CRAE with MABP suggest that the high-stress work environment may contribute to subclinical CVD in this group of police officers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Eye Law Enforcement Occupational Health Safety Sense Organs
• Keywords:
  Blood Pressure Cardiovascular Disease Eye Examinations Eyes Hypertension Law Enforcement Workers Police Officers
• ISSN:
  1047-2797
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  27
• Issue:
  8
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064619
• Citation:
  Ann Epidemiol 2017 Aug; 27(8):529
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• NORA Priority Area:
  Public Safety
• Performing Organization:
  State University of New York at Buffalo
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20150901
• Source Full Name:
  Annals of Epidemiology
• End Date:
  20190831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:dc2d4f6ae931e1c5e8703a0f37a400b5081ba64de98a85d1cb3eb54abc1cd1bcec5b3874989fbbfcc1e8f921240d29ecbc6e341b36a978a31e7929225efdc5df
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/223051/cdc_223051_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 108.79 KB ]