Retinal vein occlusion is one of the most common retinal vascular diseases and is a major cause of vision loss. A recent study sought to understand the potential role that vitamin D plays in maintaining vascular endothelium and, by extension, preventing and managing retinal vein occlusion.
A study, published in the International Journal of Retina and Vitreous, consolidated data from six observational studies to evaluate serum vitamin D levels in patients with retinal vein occlusion (RVO) compared to control groups. The primary outcome was the mean difference in vitamin D levels between RVO patients and controls. The meta-analysis also assessed the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in these groups.
The 6 study sample sizes ranged from 35 to 68 cases of RVO for a total of 289 cases. Of those cases, 154 patients were diagnosed with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) and 135 were diagnosed with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). All cases of RVO had a duration of less than 3 months at the time of the study, and RVO patients and controls had serum levels of vitamin D tested after fasting for 12 hours.
The study found that patients with RVO had significantly lower serum vitamin D levels than controls (mean 1.88 ng/mL and 16.40 ng/mL, respectively), as well as a higher prevalence of vitamin D deficiency compared to controls: 20% to 95% of RVO patients had vitamin D defifiency of 30ng/mL or less between all the studies analyzed in the review. No significant difference in vitamin D levels was observed between the CRVO and BRVO subtypes.
“There is a complex interplay of risk factors associated with retinal vein occlusion, including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, and smoking, and vitamin D deficiency is implicated in the development of mentioned risk factors,” the researchers said.
They encouraged further investigation into the association between vitamin D and CRVO/BRVO, as well as any confounding factors that may be involved in the relationship between vitamin D and RVO, that can contribute further insights into more effective treatment for patients.
The researchers had no conflicts of interest to disclose.
