Effect of chronic alcohol and tobacco use on retinal nerve fibre layer thickness: a case–control study

Abstract

ObjectiveTo identify the effects of chronic alcohol and/or tobacco use on retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness and to find the association between severity of addiction with RNFL thinning.MethodologyA case–control study was performed in 200 eyes of cases and 200 healthy control eyes. Cases were recruited from deaddiction clinic having history of alcohol and/or tobacco use for at least 5 years. Severity of alcohol and tobacco was graded by Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and Fagerstorm Nicotine Dependence (FTND) scale, respectively. Age-matched and gender-matched individuals attending ophthalmology outpatient department without addiction were recruited as controls. RNFL thickness was measured using Stratus optical coherence tomography (OCT).ResultsStatistically significant RNFL thinning was noted in all quadrants except nasal quadrant in the cases. Statistically significant thinning was seen in all quadrants except nasal with increased FTND scale. Thinning was noted in all quadrants with higher AUDIT scale, but this was statistically not significant.ConclusionChronic alcohol and tobacco use are likely to cause RNFL thinning. OCT can be used as a screening tool to suspect visual morbidities in chronic tobacco and alcohol users.

Progressive Chronic Retinal Axonal Loss Following Acute Methanol-induced Optic Neuropathy: Four-Year Prospective Cohort Study

“…Taking into account that chronic alcohol abuse is associated with higher rates of RNFL thinning, we recruited sufficient numbers of patients with a confirmed diagnosis of chronic alcoholism to the control group. 28 We registered the process of chronic axonal loss in the patients who survived severe methanol poisoning with high acidemia; the rate of RNFL loss in the study population significantly exceeded the physiological age-related decay. 29 The fact that the temporal retinal nerve fibers with predominantly small-caliber axons were more vulnerable, while the nasal fibers with more heterogeneous axon population were spared, suggests possible contribution of the mitochondrial dysfunction to the process of chronic neurodegeneration after methanol-induced optic neuropathy.…”

Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer in Patients with Alcohol Use Disorder

“…The only study published to date on chronic alcohol consumption and the thickness of the RNFL is one by Ahuja's group [12]. In this study, which included 100 patients who actively consumed alcohol, a reduction in the thickness of the RNFL reaching statistical significance in all quadrants (superior, inferior, and temporal) was found when comparing that group to the control group, which was paired by age.…”

Retinal vascular features as a biomarker for psychiatric disorders

“…All patients were on treatment with medication and the confounding effect of pharmacotherapy cannot be ruled out. However, as shown in 77,78 . However, as nicotine dependence being a common comorbidity in schizophrenia 79 , exclusion of patients with nicotine use would have affected the generalizability of findings.…”

“…It is characterized by drastic changes in the mood, energy, and activity levels of the person. These shifts in mood and energy levels are severe and affect daily activities 77,78 . For this reason, it is also referred to as manic-depressive disorder.…”

“…Considering the shared pathogenic factors41 and increased prevalence of vascular adverse events 66 in both SCZ and BD, we did not expect any difference between SCZ and BD. Only a few studies have reported differences in cognitive functions, brain structure/ function, comorbidities between SCZ and BD72- 76 ; most other studies have reported significant overlap between SCZ and BD in genetics, brain structure and function41,77 . We do not have a definitive explanation for this difference at this stage.…”