Vitamin D levels in postmenopausal women diagnosed with Central Retinal Vein Occlusion: a case-control study

Abstract Purpose To compare Vitamin D levels in postmenopausal women diagnosed with Central Retinal Vein occlusion (CRVO) and investigate if vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for CRVO in this population. Methods This was a case-control study. Participants in this study were 32 postmenopausal women diagnosed with CRVO, and 32 age- and sex- matched controls. Peripheral blood samples were taken to evaluate vitamin D along with Calcium, magnesium and phosphate concentrations. Results Mean age in women with CRVO was 69.03 ± 8.14 years and 69.41 ± 8.06 years in controls. Women with CRVO were more likely to have elevated blood pressure compared to controls. (p = 0.04, chi-square test). 19 out of 32 women with CRVO had vitamin D deficiency compared to 6 out of 32 controls (p = 0.0008, chi-square test) using the 20ng/ml cutoff. Mean calcium, magnesium and phosphate levels were comparable between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for hypertension and diabetes showed that vitamin D deficiency was associated with increased odds for CRVO (OR = 2.06, 95%CI = 1.10–3.86, p = 0.024). Conclusion Vitamin D deficiency is common in women with CRVO. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, vitamin D deficiency was proven to be associated with a 2-fold increased risk for CRVO in postmenopausal women. Further studies are needed to validate this result in other populations.