Sleep apnea and risk of retinal vein occlusion: a nationwide population-based study of Taiwanese.

PURPOSE: To explore the relationship of sleep apnea and the subsequent development of retinal vein occlusion (RVO).

DESIGN

A retrospective nonrandomized, matched-control cohort study using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.

METHODS

From 1997 through 2007, we identified newly diagnosed sleep apnea cases in the database. A control group without sleep apnea, matched for age, gender, and comorbidities, was selected for comparison. The 2 cohorts were followed up, and the occurrence of RVO was observed.

RESULTS

Of the 35 634 sampled patients (5965 sleep apnea patients vs 29 669 controls), 52 (0.15%) experienced RVO during a mean follow-up period of 3.72 years, including 13 (0.22%, all branch RVO) from the sleep apnea cohort and 39 (0.13%, 39 branch RVO and 10 central RVO) from the control group. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed the tendency of sleep apnea patients toward RVO development (P = .048, log-rank test). Patients with sleep apnea experienced a 1.94-fold increase (95% confidence interval, 1.03 to 3.65; P = .041) in incident RVO, which was independent of age, gender, and comorbidities.

CONCLUSIONS

Sleep apnea may be an independent risk factor for RVO.