Peripapillary Microvasculature Predicts the Incidence and Development of Diabetic Retinopathy: An SS-OCTA Study

Purpose : To examine the associations of peripapillary microvascular metrics with diabetic retinopathy (DR) incidence and development using swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA). Design : Prospective cohort study. Methods : 1033 eyes from 1033 type II diabetes mellitus (T2D) patients were included with 2-year follow-up. The peripapillary microvascular metrics at the superficial capillary plexus (SCP) were measured by SS-OCTA at the baseline, including peripapillary vascular density (pVD) and vascular length density (pVLD). The DR incidence and progression were evaluated with seven standard fields of stereoscopic color fundus photographs. The associations were tested with logistic regression models after adjusting established risk factors and ...