{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,10]],"date-time":"2026-02-10T19:33:47Z","timestamp":1770752027896,"version":"3.50.0"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,10]],"date-time":"2026-02-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770681600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001321","name":"National Research Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["TTK23040890729"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TTK23040890729"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001321","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Adverse microvascular complications are early markers of cardiovascular risk and precede the development of cardiovascular diseases. An increase in adiposity has been associated with changes in retinal microvascular calibre in a specific age group. However, this association is scarce in young adults. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between neck circumference and body fat with retinal microvascular calibres in young adults. In our cross-sectional study, 330 students aged (18\u201330 years) participated. Anthropometric measurements were taken according to standard procedures. Retinal photographs were obtained with an Optomed retinal camera and analyzed with MONA-REVA vessel analysis software to obtain microvascular calibres such as central retinal arteriolar equivalent (CRAE), central venular equivalent (CRVE) and artery-to-venous ratio (AVR). In the stepwise multiple regression analysis, neck circumference (NC) was negatively associated with CRAE [adjusted R2 = 0.050; \u03b2 = \u22120.122 (95% CI = \u22120.963; \u22120.067), p = 0.024], and body fat percentage was positively associated with CRVE [adjusted R2 = 0.060; \u03b2 = 0.157 (95% CI = 0.072; 0.364), p = 0.004] adjusted for age, gender, body mass index, smoking, alcohol and mean arterial pressure. For the first time in young adults, an increase in upper body fat was associated with retinal arteriolar narrowing, while an increase in total body fat was associated with retinal venular widening.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph23020219","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,10]],"date-time":"2026-02-10T12:07:06Z","timestamp":1770725226000},"page":"219","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Retinal Microvascular Calibres and Body Fat Indices in Young Adults"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"given":"Yandisa","family":"Ntsilane","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Nelson Mandela Drive, Mthatha 5117, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Asakhanya","family":"Moshani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Nelson Mandela Drive, Mthatha 5117, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Melikhaya M.","family":"Bukhali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Nelson Mandela Drive, Mthatha 5117, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nthai E.","family":"Ramoshaba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Nelson Mandela Drive, Mthatha 5117, South Africa"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2023, June 14). World Health Organization (WHO). Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs). Available online: https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/fact-sheets\/detail\/cardiovascular-diseases-(cvds)."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"193","DOI":"10.1007\/s44197-024-00187-8","article-title":"The 30 Years of Shifting in The Indonesian Cardiovascular Burden-Analysis of The Global Burden of Disease Study","volume":"14","author":"Muharram","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. Epidemiol. Glob. Health"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1016\/j.toxlet.2012.11.007","article-title":"Early life exposure to air pollution: How bad is it?","volume":"216","author":"Backes","year":"2013","journal-title":"Toxicol. Lett."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hernandez-Martinez, A., Martinez-Rosales, E., Alcaraz-Ibanez, M., Soriano-Maldonado, A., and Artero, E.G. (2019). Influence of Body Composition on Arterial Stiffness in Middle-Aged Adults: Healthy UAL Cross-Sectional Study. Medicina, 55.","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina55070334"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"486","DOI":"10.1007\/s12350-011-9370-3","article-title":"Assessment of coronary endothelial function using PET","volume":"18","author":"Yoshinaga","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Nucl. Cardiol."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100938","DOI":"10.1016\/j.preteyeres.2020.100938","article-title":"Past, present and future role of retinal imaging in neurodegenerative disease","volume":"83","author":"Kashani","year":"2021","journal-title":"Prog. Retin. Eye Res."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"785","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jchf.2022.07.004","article-title":"Retinal Microvasculature: A Potential Window Into Heart Failure Prevention","volume":"10","author":"Chaikijurajai","year":"2022","journal-title":"JACC Heart Fail."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"374.e1","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amjmed.2009.05.030","article-title":"The relationship between retinal microvascular abnormalities and coronary heart disease: A review","volume":"123","author":"McClintic","year":"2010","journal-title":"Am. J. Med."},{"key":"ref_9","first-page":"705","article-title":"Association Between Body Composition and Retinal Vascular Caliber in Children and Adolescents","volume":"56","author":"Xiao","year":"2015","journal-title":"Investig. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"32282","DOI":"10.1038\/srep32282","article-title":"Overweight status is associated with extensive signs of microvascular dysfunction and cardiovascular risk","volume":"6","author":"Patel","year":"2016","journal-title":"Sci. Rep."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Suwimol, S., Pisit, T., Anchalee, A., Narisorn, K., Jureeporn, J., and Wiroj, J. (2022). Neck circumference as a screening measure for identifying NAFLD among a group of academic employees in Bangkok, Thailand. PLoS ONE, 17.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0263826"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1219","DOI":"10.15537\/smj.2017.12.20926","article-title":"Neck circumference as a marker of obesity and a predictor of cardiometabolic risk among Saudi subjects","volume":"38","author":"Alfadhli","year":"2017","journal-title":"Saudi Med. J."},{"key":"ref_13","first-page":"36","article-title":"Neck circumference as a useful marker of obesity: A comparison with body mass index and waist circumference","volume":"62","author":"Hingorjo","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Pak. Med. Assoc."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1750","DOI":"10.1002\/oby.22885","article-title":"Retinal Vas\/cular Tortuosity and Diameter Associations with Adiposity and Components of Body Composition","volume":"28","author":"Tapp","year":"2020","journal-title":"Obesity"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.3352\/jeehp.2021.18.17","article-title":"Sample size determination and power analysis using the G*Power software","volume":"18","author":"Kang","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Educ. Eval. Health Prof."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mthethwa, W.S., Ramoshaba, N.E., and Mampofu, Z.M. (2024). Association of interarm blood pressure difference with selected body circumferences among Walter Sisulu University community. BMC Public Health, 24.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-024-18117-5"},{"key":"ref_17","unstructured":"Marfell-Jones, M., Nevill, A.M., and Stewart, A.D. (2012). Anthropometry surrogates for fatness and health. Body Composition in Sport, Exercise and Health, Taylor & Francis."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1293","DOI":"10.1097\/HJH.0000000000002843","article-title":"2021 European Society of Hypertension practice guidelines for office and out-of-office blood pressure measurement","volume":"39","author":"Stergiou","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Hypertens."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e2011537","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2020.11537","article-title":"Association of Retinal Microvascular Characteristics with Short-term Memory Performance in Children Aged 4 to 5 Years","volume":"3","author":"Luyten","year":"2020","journal-title":"JAMA Netw. Open"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Khan, A., De Boever, P., Gerrits, N., Akhtar, N., Saqqur, M., Ponirakis, G., Gad, H., Petropoulos, I.N., Shuaib, A., and Faber, J.E. (2022). Retinal vessel multifractals predict pial collateral status in patients with acute ischemic stroke. PLoS ONE, 17.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0267837"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"De Boever, P., Louwies, T., Provost, E., Int Panis, L., and Nawrot, T.S. (2014). Fundus photography as a convenient tool to study microvascular responses to cardiovascular disease risk factors in epidemiological studies. J. Vis. Exp., e51904.","DOI":"10.3791\/51904"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"143","DOI":"10.1076\/ceyr.27.3.143.16049","article-title":"Revised formulas for summarizing retinal vessel diammeters","volume":"27","author":"Knudtson","year":"2003","journal-title":"Curr. Eye Res."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e10","DOI":"10.1161\/01.HYP.0000231652.97173.4c","article-title":"Are Narrower or Wider Retinal Venules Associated with Incident Hypertension?","volume":"48","author":"Liew","year":"2006","journal-title":"Hypertension"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"52","DOI":"10.1167\/iovs.06-0672","article-title":"Measurement of Retinal Vascular Caliber: Issues and Alternatives to Using the Arteriole to Venule Ratio","volume":"48","author":"Liew","year":"2007","journal-title":"Investig. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"362","DOI":"10.1016\/j.mvr.2012.09.004","article-title":"High prevalence of retinal endothelial dysfunction in obesity WHO class III","volume":"84","author":"Lammert","year":"2012","journal-title":"Microvasc. Res."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e002936","DOI":"10.1161\/JAHA.115.002936","article-title":"Adipose Tissue Depots and Their Cross-Sectional Associations with Circulating Biomarkers of Metabolic Regulation","volume":"5","author":"Lee","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Am. Heart Assoc."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"T17","DOI":"10.1530\/JOE-12-0232","article-title":"Role of adipokines in cardiovascular disease","volume":"216","author":"Mattu","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Endocrinol."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"406960","DOI":"10.1155\/2014\/406960","article-title":"Roles of inflammation, oxidative stress, and vascular dysfunction in hypertension","volume":"2014","author":"Dinh","year":"2014","journal-title":"BioMed Res. Int."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1241","DOI":"10.1038\/ijo.2013.226","article-title":"Association of leptin and insulin with childhood obesity and retinal vessel diameters","volume":"38","author":"Siegrist","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int. J. Obes."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3238","DOI":"10.1161\/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.741645","article-title":"Leptin and Cardiovascular Disease","volume":"117","author":"Koh","year":"2008","journal-title":"Circulation"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"36","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amjmed.2020.07.013","article-title":"Retinal microvascular signs as screening and prognostic factors for cardiac disease: A systematic review of current evidence","volume":"134","author":"Allon","year":"2021","journal-title":"Am. J. Med."}],"container-title":["International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/23\/2\/219\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,10]],"date-time":"2026-02-10T12:09:21Z","timestamp":1770725361000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/23\/2\/219"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,10]]},"references-count":31,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2]]}},"alternative-id":["ijerph23020219"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph23020219","relation":{},"ISSN":["1660-4601"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1660-4601","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,10]]}}}