Association of arterial stiffness and eye disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND

This systematic review and meta-analysis assesses the association of arterial stiffness with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), glaucoma, retinal vein occlusion (RVO) and retinopathy (diabetic and hypertensive).

METHODS

Medline and Embase were systematically searched for observational studies of arterial stiffness and eye disease. Cohort studies were included if they estimated arterial stiffness using any measures based on the arterial waveform, with cross-sectional and case-control studies limited to measures of pulse wave velocity. We assessed the certainty of evidence using Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation.

RESULTS

The systematic review of 61 studies (six for AMD, ten for glaucoma, six for RVO and 39 for retinopathy) showed that arterial stiffness overall was higher in people with eye disease than people without eye disease. Forty-four cross-sectional and case-control studies were included in the meta-analysis. Arterial stiffness estimated by way of pulse wave velocity was associated with AMD (mean difference: 0.92 m/s, 95% CI 0.37 to 1.46; 2 studies; n=381; low certainty evidence), glaucoma (mean difference: 0.97 m/s, 95% CI 0.31 to 1.64; 7 studies; n=3418; low certainty evidence), RVO (mean difference: 2.79 m/s, 95% CI 2.02 to 3.55; 5 studies; n=414; very low certainty evidence) and retinopathy (1.48 m/s, 95% CI 0.1.16 to 1.81; 22 studies; n=10 074; low certainty evidence). The 19 cohort studies identified (five for AMD, three for glaucoma, one for RVO and 10 for retinopathy) indicated overall that increased arterial stiffness was associated with the future development of eye disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher arterial stiffness is associated with AMD, glaucoma, RVO and retinopathy PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42019129563.

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2025. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ Group.