{"doi":"10.1167/iovs.62.9.20","title":"Serum and Macular Carotenoids in Relation to Retinal Vessel Caliber Fifteen Years Later, in the Second Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease Study","abstract":"Purpose: We investigated whether dietary carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin (L/Z) in the serum and macula were associated with central retinal arteriole and venule calibers in a follow-up ancillary study among older women in the Women's Health Initiative. Methods: Among 390 women who participated in Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (CAREDS2) (2016-2019), we investigated associations between serum L/Z at Women's Health Initiative baseline (1994-1998), and macular pigment optical density (MPOD) at CAREDS baseline (2001-2004), with central retinal vessel caliber in CAREDS2. MPOD was measured using heterochromatic flicker photometry (0.5° from the foveal center) in CAREDS baseline and CAREDS2. Vessel calibers were measured from fundus photographs (CAREDS2). We also explored associations in women with stable MPOD (±0.10 optical density units) over 15 years (n = 106), given the long-term increases in MPOD related to diet patterns and supplement use. Associations were investigated using linear modeling. Results: In the full sample (n = 390), higher serum L/Z (tertile 3 vs. 1) was positively associated with arteriole caliber (mean ± SE, 145.0 ± 1.4 µm vs. 140.8 ± 1.4 µm; P = 0.05) and venule caliber (214.6 ± 2.2 µm vs. 207.5 ± 2.2 µm; P = 0.03). MPOD was also associated with wider vessel calibers (tertile 3 vs. 1), but the trend was only statistically significant for venules (144.4 ± 1.4 µm vs. 141.1 ± 1.4 µm [P = 0.12] and 213.3 ± 2.1 µm vs. 206.0 ± 2.1 µm [P = 0.02], respectively.) Most associations were strengthened in women with stable MPOD over 15 years, including between MPOD and arteriole caliber (149.8 ± 2.6 µm vs.135.8 ± 3.0 µm; P = 0.001). Conclusions: Higher L/Z status in serum and retina was associated with larger central retinal vessel calibers. Prospective studies and clinical trials are needed to elucidate whether L/Z supplementation prevents vision loss through increasing blood flow.","journal":"Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science","year":2021,"id":201384,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":7,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.8988,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2021-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":780158,"name":"Jackson Korger","orcid":"0000-0002-5451-3034","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":296342,"name":"Yao Liu","orcid":"0000-0002-0700-0148","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":428383,"name":"Zhe Liu","orcid":"0000-0003-1846-8472","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":428384,"name":"Jeong W. Pak","orcid":"0000-0001-8564-6537","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":780159,"name":"Nancy Barrett","orcid":"0000-0002-8547-6408","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":429336,"name":"Barbara Blodi","orcid":null,"position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":286058,"name":"Amitha Domalpally","orcid":"0000-0002-8145-9619","position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":428389,"name":"Elizabeth J. Johnson","orcid":"0000-0002-8508-0032","position":8,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":25029,"name":"Robert B. Wallace","orcid":"0000-0001-6040-3803","position":9,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":254974,"name":"Julie A. Mares","orcid":"0000-0002-2912-6243","position":10,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":780864,"name":"for the Carotenoids in Age-Related Eye Disease Study Investigators","orcid":null,"position":11,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":428391,"name":"Thomas P. Lawler","orcid":"0000-0002-7532-0389","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":61,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-18T23:50:56.394488Z","pmid":"34254974","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}