The Rotterdam Study is an ongoing prospective cohort study that started in 1990 in the city of Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The study aims to unravel etiology, preclinical course, natural history and ...potential targets for intervention for chronic diseases in mid-life and late-life. The study focuses on cardiovascular, endocrine, hepatic, neurological, ophthalmic, psychiatric, dermatological, otolaryngological, locomotor, and respiratory diseases. As of 2008, 14,926 subjects aged 45 years or over comprise the Rotterdam Study cohort. Since 2016, the cohort is being expanded by persons aged 40 years and over. The findings of the Rotterdam Study have been presented in over 1700 research articles and reports. This article provides an update on the rationale and design of the study. It also presents a summary of the major findings from the preceding 3 years and outlines developments for the coming period.
The Rotterdam Study is a prospective cohort study ongoing since 1990 in the city of Rotterdam in The Netherlands. The study targets cardiovascular, endocrine, hepatic, neurological, ophthalmic, ...psychiatric, dermatological, oncological, and respiratory diseases. As of 2008, 14,926 subjects aged 45 years or over comprise the Rotterdam Study cohort. The findings of the Rotterdam Study have been presented in over a 1,000 research articles and reports (see www.erasmus-epidemiology.nl/rotterdamstudy). This article gives the rationale of the study and its design. It also presents a summary of the major findings and an update of the objectives and methods.
Purpose To develop a classification and grading system for myopic maculopathy. Design Development and evaluation of a classification system for myopic maculopathy based on observational case series. ...Methods A comprehensive set of myopic macular lesions was defined via literature review and through consensus meetings among retinal specialists and clinician scientists. A classification of myopic maculopathy was formulated based on fundus photographs and a modified Delphi process and consensus. Inter- and intraobserver reproducibility, assessed as agreement (%) and weighted kappa values, were evaluated. One hundred retinal photographs with myopia and myopic macular lesions were selected from case series at the High Myopia Clinic of the Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. Results We defined 5 categories of myopic maculopathy including “no myopic retinal degenerative lesion” (Category 0), “tessellated fundus” (Category 1), “diffuse chorioretinal atrophy” (Category 2), “patchy chorioretinal atrophy” (Category 3), and “macular atrophy” (Category 4). Three additional features to supplement these categories were defined as “plus” lesions, namely, lacquer cracks, myopic choroidal neovascularization, and Fuchs spot. Posterior staphyloma was considered as a further, important sign of myopic retinopathy. The intraobserver agreement was ≥85% and the corresponding weighted kappa statistic was ≥0.6 between observations. After a brief training session, interobserver kappa statistics reached the predefined satisfactory level (≥0.4), considered as above moderate agreement. Conclusions We propose a classification system for myopic maculopathy that was found to be reproducible. Applying a uniform classification in different studies will facilitate communication and comparison of findings from clinical trials and epidemiologic studies.
The Generation R Study is a population-based prospective cohort study from fetal life until adulthood. The study is designed to identify early environmental and genetic causes and causal pathways ...leading to normal and abnormal growth, development and health from fetal life, childhood and young adulthood. This multidisciplinary study focuses on several health outcomes including behaviour and cognition, body composition, eye development, growth, hearing, heart and vascular development, infectious disease and immunity, oral health and facial growth, respiratory health, allergy and skin disorders of children and their parents. Main exposures of interest include environmental, endocrine, genomic (genetic, epigenetic, microbiome), lifestyle related, nutritional and socio-demographic determinants. In total, 9778 mothers with a delivery date from April 2002 until January 2006 were enrolled in the study. Response at baseline was 61%, and general follow-up rates until the age of 10 years were around 80%. Data collection in children and their parents includes questionnaires, interviews, detailed physical and ultrasound examinations, behavioural observations, lung function, Magnetic Resonance Imaging and biological sampling. Genome and epigenome wide association screens are available. Eventually, results from the Generation R Study contribute to the development of strategies for optimizing health and healthcare for pregnant women and children.
To determine the risk between degree of myopia and myopic macular degeneration (MMD), retinal detachment (RD), cataract, open angle glaucoma (OAG), and blindness.
A systematic review and ...meta-analyses of studies published before June 2019 on myopia complications. Odds ratios (OR) per complication and spherical equivalent (SER) degree (low myopia SER < -0.5 to > -3.00 diopter D; moderate myopia SER ≤ -3.00 to > -6.00 D; high myopia SER ≤ -6.00 D) were calculated using fixed and random effects models.
Low, moderate, and high myopia were all associated with increased risks of MMD (OR, 13.57, 95% confidence interval CI, 6.18-29.79; OR, 72.74, 95% CI, 33.18-159.48; OR, 845.08, 95% CI, 230.05-3104.34, respectively); RD (OR, 3.15, 95% CI, 1.92-5.17; OR, 8.74, 95% CI, 7.28-10.50; OR, 12.62, 95% CI, 6.65-23.94, respectively); posterior subcapsular cataract (OR, 1.56, 95% CI, 1.32-1.84; OR, 2.55, 95% CI, 1.98-3.28; OR, 4.55, 95% CI, 2.66-7.75, respectively); nuclear cataract (OR, 1.79, 95% CI, 1.08-2.97; OR, 2.39, 95% CI, 1.03-5.55; OR, 2.87, 95% CI, 1.43-5.73, respectively); and OAG (OR, 1.59, 95% CI, 1.33-1.91; OR, 2.92, 95% CI, 1.89-4.52 for low and moderate/high myopia, respectively). The risk of visual impairment was strongly related to longer axial length, higher myopia degree, and age older than 60 years (OR, 1.71, 95% CI, 1.07-2.74; OR, 5.54, 95% CI, 3.12-9.85; and OR, 87.63, 95% CI, 34.50-222.58 for low, moderate, and high myopia in participants aged >60 years, respectively).
Although high myopia carries the highest risk of complications and visual impairment, low and moderate myopia also have considerable risks. These estimates should alert policy makers and health care professionals to make myopia a priority for prevention and treatment.
IMPORTANCE: Retinal structures may serve as a biomarker for dementia, but longitudinal studies examining this link are lacking. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of inner retinal layer ...thickness with prevalent and incident dementia in a general population of Dutch adults. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: From September 2007 to June 2012, participants from the prospective population-based Rotterdam Study who were 45 years and older and had gradable retinal optical coherence tomography images and at baseline were free from stroke, Parkinson disease, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, macular degeneration, retinopathy, myopia, hyperopia, and optic disc pathology were included. They were followed up until January 1, 2015, for the onset of dementia. EXPOSURES: Inner retinal layer thicknesses (ie, retinal nerve fiber layer RNFL) and ganglion cell–inner plexiform layer (GC-IPL) thicknesses measured on optical coherence tomography images. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Odds ratios and hazard ratios for incident dementia per SD decrease in retinal layer thickness adjusted for age, sex, education, and cardiovascular risk factors. RESULTS: Of 5065 individuals eligible for optical coherence tomography scanning, 3289 (64.9%) (mean SD age 68.9 9.9 years, 1879 57% women) were included in the analysis. Of these 3289 individuals, 41 (1.2%) already had dementia. Thinner GC-IPL was associated with prevalent dementia (odds ratio per SD decrease in GC-IPL, 1.37 95% CI, 0.99-1.90). No association was found of RNFL with prevalent dementia. During 14 674 person-years of follow-up (mean SD, 4.5 1.6 years), 86 individuals (2.6%) developed dementia of whom 68 (2.1%) had Alzheimer disease. Thinner RNFL at baseline was associated with an increased risk of developing dementia (hazard ratio per SD decrease in RNFL, 1.44 95% CI, 1.19-1.75), which was similar for Alzheimer disease (hazard ratio, 1.43 95% CI, 1.15-1.78). No association was found between GC-IPL thickness and incident dementia (hazard ratio, 1.13 95% CI, 0.90-1.43). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Thinner RNFL is associated with an increased risk of dementia, including Alzheimer disease, suggesting that retinal neurodegeneration may serve as a preclinical biomarker for dementia.
The Rotterdam Study is a prospective cohort study ongoing since 1990 in the city of Rotterdam in The Netherlands. The study targets cardiovascular, endocrine, hepatic, neurological, ophthalmic, ...psychiatric, dermatological, otolaryngological, locomotor, and respiratory diseases. As of 2008, 14,926 subjects aged 45 years or over comprise the Rotterdam Study cohort. The findings of the Rotterdam Study have been presented in over 1200 research articles and reports (see www.erasmus-epidemiology.nl/rotterdamstudy). This article gives the rationale of the study and its design. It also presents a summary of the major findings and an update of the objectives and methods.
The Generation R Study: Biobank update 2015 Kruithof, Claudia J.; Kooijman, Marjolein N.; van Duijn, Cornelia M. ...
European journal of epidemiology,
12/2014, Volume:
29, Issue:
12
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
The Generation R Study is a population-based prospective cohort study from fetal life until adulthood. The study is designed to identify early environmental and genetic causes and causal pathways ...leading to normal and abnormal growth, development and health from fetal life, childhood and young adulthood. In total, 9,778 mothers were enrolled in the study. Data collection in children and their parents include questionnaires, interviews, detailed physical and ultrasound examinations, behavioural observations, Magnetic Resonance Imaging and biological samples. Efforts have been conducted for collecting biological samples including blood, hair, faeces, nasal swabs, saliva and urine samples and generating genomics data on DNA, RNA and microbiome. In this paper, we give an update of the collection, processing and storage of these biological samples and available measures. Together with detailed phenotype measurements, these biological samples provide a unique resource for epidemiological studies focused on environmental exposures, genetic and genomic determinants and their interactions in relation to growth, health and development from fetal life onwards.
2020 as the Year of Quarantine Myopia Klaver, Caroline C. W; Polling, Jan Roelof; Enthoven, Clair A
JAMA ophthalmology,
03/2021, Volume:
139, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Non-syndromic retinitis pigmentosa Verbakel, Sanne K.; van Huet, Ramon A.C.; Boon, Camiel J.F. ...
Progress in retinal and eye research,
September 2018, 2018-09-00, 20180901, Volume:
66
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) encompasses a group of inherited retinal dystrophies characterized by the primary degeneration of rod and cone photoreceptors. RP is a leading cause of visual disability, ...with a worldwide prevalence of 1:4000. Although the majority of RP cases are non-syndromic, 20–30% of patients with RP also have an associated non-ocular condition. RP typically manifests with night blindness in adolescence, followed by concentric visual field loss, reflecting the principal dysfunction of rod photoreceptors; central vision loss occurs later in life due to cone dysfunction. Photoreceptor function measured with an electroretinogram is markedly reduced or even absent. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fundus autofluorescence (FAF) imaging show a progressive loss of outer retinal layers and altered lipofuscin distribution in a characteristic pattern. Over the past three decades, a vast number of disease-causing variants in more than 80 genes have been associated with non-syndromic RP. The wide heterogeneity of RP makes it challenging to describe the clinical findings and pathogenesis. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the clinical characteristics of RP specific to genetically defined patient subsets. We supply a unique atlas with color fundus photographs of most RP subtypes, and we discuss the relevant considerations with respect to differential diagnoses. In addition, we discuss the genes involved in the pathogenesis of RP, as well as the retinal processes that are affected by pathogenic mutations in these genes. Finally, we review management strategies for patients with RP, including counseling, visual rehabilitation, and current and emerging therapeutic options.
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