Smoking and conjunctival microaneurysms

The presence of conjunctival microaneurysms was determined in a community health survey in Jerusalem. The prevalence rate was 11.2% in men and 4.3% in women aged > 20 years. Prevalence increased with age in both sexes. Controlling for age, a significantly higher prevalence was found in cigarette smokers (15.2%) than in nonsmokers (7.1%). No relationship was found with the presence of coronary heart disease, hypertension or diabetes or with body mass index or serum cholesterol. The subsequent incidence of new cases of coronary heart disease, in the five years following the initial survey, was higher in people who initially had conjunctival microaneurysms; the numbers of new cases were small, and this difference was not statistically significant.