High-salt intake affects retinal vascular tortuosity in healthy males: an exploratory randomized cross-over trial

The retinal microcirculation is increasingly receiving credit as a relatively easily accessible microcirculatory bed that correlates closely with clinical cardiovascular outcomes. The effect of high salt (NaCl) intake on the retinal microcirculation is currently unknown. Therefore, we performed an e...

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Published in:Scientific reports 2021-01, Vol.11 (1), p.801-801, Article 801
Main Authors: Wenstedt, Eliane F. E., Beugelink, Lisanne, Schrooten, Esmee M., Rademaker, Emma, Rorije, Nienke M. G., Wouda, Rosa D., Schlingemann, Reinier O., Wong, Tien Y., Vogt, Liffert
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
692/308/53/2423
692/4019/592/75/243
692/700/2814
Blood pressure
Cardiovascular diseases
Diet
Health risks
Humanities and Social Sciences
Hypertension
multidisciplinary
Nutrient deficiency
Retina
Risk factors
Salt
Salts
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Sodium
Sodium chloride
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Summary:The retinal microcirculation is increasingly receiving credit as a relatively easily accessible microcirculatory bed that correlates closely with clinical cardiovascular outcomes. The effect of high salt (NaCl) intake on the retinal microcirculation is currently unknown. Therefore, we performed an exploratory randomized cross-over dietary intervention study in 18 healthy males. All subjects adhered to a two-week high-salt diet and low-salt diet, in randomized order, after which fundus photographs were taken and assessed using a semi-automated computer-assisted program (SIVA, version 4.0). Outcome parameters involved retinal venular and arteriolar tortuosity, vessel diameter, branching angle and fractal dimension. At baseline, participants had a mean (SD) age of 29.8 (4.4) years and blood pressure of 117 (9)/73 (5) mmHg. Overall, high-salt diet significantly increased venular tortuosity (12.2%, p = 0.001). Other retinal parameters were not significantly different between diets. Changes in arteriolar tortuosity correlated with changes in ambulatory systolic blood pressure (r = − 0.513; p = 0.04). In conclusion, high-salt diet increases retinal venular tortuosity, and salt-induced increases in ambulatory systolic blood pressure associate with decreases in retinal arteriolar tortuosity. Besides potential eye-specific consequences, both phenomena have previously been associated with hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors, underlining the deleterious microcirculatory effects of high salt intake.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-020-79753-6