To investigate retinal neurovascular structural changes in patients with essential hypertension. METHODS. This observational cross-sectional study consisted of 199 right eyes from 169 nondiabetic essential hypertensive patients, divided into groups as follows: group A, 113 patients with hypertensive retinopathy (HTNR); group B, 56 patients without HTNR; and a control group of 30 healthy subjects. Peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), radial peripapillary segmented (RPC), ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GC-IPL), and superficial (SVP) and deep (DVP) vascular plexus density at the macula (6 × 6 mm 2) were measured by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). RESULTS. DVP density was significantly reduced in groups A and B compared to the control group (group A DVP, P = 0.001; group B DVP P = 0.002). GC-IPL, RNFL thickness, and RPC and SVP density in group A were significantly decreased compared to the control group or group B (all P < 0.05). In hypertensive patients, GC-IPL and RNFL thickness were negatively correlated with severity of HTNR (GC-IPL, r =-0.331, P < 0.001; RNFL, r =-0.583, P < 0.001) and level of home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM)
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