Association Between the Metabolic Syndrome and Retinal Microvascular Diameters Among Police Officers.

OBJECTIVES: We examined the associations of the metabolic syndrome severity score (MSSS) and the metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) components with central retinal arteriolar equivalent (CRAE) and central retinal venular equivalent (CRVE). METHODS: Participants in this cross-sectional study were 253 officers from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress study (2011-2014). The MSSS is a z -score that represents the severity of MetSyn and was estimated using a sex/race-specific equation and the five MetSyn components. Associations of MSSS and the MetSyn with CRAE/CRVE were obtained using linear regression models or analysis of covariance. RESULTS: For every 1-standard deviation of MSSS, CRAE decreased by 2.3 µm (SE = 1.2, P = 0.0262) and CRVE increased by 3.4 µm (SE = 1.6, P = 0.0308) after adjusting for confounders. CONCLUSIONS: Officers with higher MSSS had narrower (ie, worse) arteriolar diameters and wider (ie, worse) venular diameters.