Evaluation of the Association between the Risk of Central Retinal Artery Occlusion and the Concentration of Environmental Air Pollutants

The purpose of the retrospective, population-based study was to assess the relationship between the risk of central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) and the level of air pollutants. This study identified 2.272 cases of newly diagnosed CRAO registered in the Polish National Health Service database. The study authors gathered hourly ambient concentrations of particulate matter—PM 2.5, PM 10, benzene, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and sulfur dioxide from pollution monitoring stations. Data on average daily temperature and atmospheric pressure were also obtained. In the statistical analyses, single- and multi-factor Poisson negative binomial regression models were carried out, controlling also for ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure with seasonality set at a level of 4. This study has shown a positive association between CRAO onset and short-term, daily changes in PM 10, NO(2), SO(2), O(3), and CO concentrations, as well as with air temperature, in the days preceding the diagnosis.