Insulin Resistance and Atherosclerosis in Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion

Abstract Purpose: To investigate insulin resistance and atherosclerotic change in patients with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). Subjects: Sixty-three patients with BRVO, 859 age- and sex-matched control subjects without BRVO who received the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and 53 control subjects, in whom carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) was measured by high-resolution ultrasonography, were included in this study. Results: The area under the curve of immunoreactive insulin in plasma during the OGTT was higher in patients with BRVO than in control subjects without BRVO, both when comparing individuals with normal glucose tolerance ( P  = .013) and when comparing individuals with impaired glucose tolerance ( P Conclusions: Insulin resistance may play some role in the onset or progression of BRVO.