Correlation between retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and cognitive function in patients with mild ischemic stroke

Abstract

Objective To investigate the association between retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and cognitive dysfunction in patients with mild ischemic stroke. Methods Total 146 patients with mild ischemic stroke that diagnosed and treated in Chengde Central Hospital in Hebei from January 2020 to December 2021 were included. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used to measure the RNFL thickness in each quadrant of both eyes, and Mini⁃Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were used to evaluate cognitive function. Results In patients with mild ischemic stroke, the RNFL thickness at the superior side of left eye was greater than right eye (t = ⁃ 4.589, P = 0.000), and the RNFL thickness at the temporal side of right eye was greater than left eye (t = 3.639, P = 0.000). Correlation analysis showed that the correlation between the RNFL thickness at the superior side of the left eye and the MMSE score (r = 0.385, P = 0.000), the RNFL thickness at the temporal side of the left eye and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score at admission (r = 0.170, P = 0.020) were positively correlated. The correlation between the RNFL thickness at the inferior side of the left eye and the history of drinking (r = ⁃ 0.216, P = 0.011), the RNFL thickness at the temporal side of the right eye and the history of hypertension (r = ⁃ 0.194, P = 0.023) were negativley correlated. Conclusions The thinning of RNFL in patients with mild ischemic stroke may have a certain degree of association with cognitive dysfunction.

Keywords

• ischemic stroke
• cognition disorders
• retina
• nerve fibers
• optics and photonics
• tomography, x⁃ray computed