Multi-ethnic Study Of Atherosclerosis - Vision Component

多种族动脉粥样硬化研究（MESA）是一项多中心、队列研究，在该研究中，6814名年龄在45-84岁的高加索人、西班牙人、非洲裔美国人和亚裔美国人患有亚临床心血管疾病的男性和女性进行了为期10年的随访，以确定预测进展为显性心血管疾病的因素。MESA研究由NHLBI赞助，并根据合同提供资金。Cotch博士是MESA-EYE组件（折射和眼底摄影）的合作者。

The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) is a multicenter, cohort study in which a population-based sample of 6,814 Caucasian, Hispanic, African-American and Asian-American men and women aged 45-84 with subclinical cardiovascular disease are followed for 10 years to identify factors predictive of progression to overt cardiovascular disease. The MESA study is sponsored by NHLBI and is funded under contract. Dr. Cotch is a collaborator in the MESA-EYE component (refraction and fundus photography). The ocular component was integrated into the second MESA visit and 6235 people participated between September 2002 and December 2003. The aims of the ocular component are to document the presence and severity of retinal microvascular changes (as interpreted from digital retinal photos) indicative of macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, as well as to describe their interrelationships with cross-sectional and longitudinal measures of microvascular and macrovascular systemic disease as defined clinically, by imaging modality, or by analysis of biological laboratory measures. The visual acuity/objective refraction component was designed to allow us to estimate visual impairment by sex and ethnicity, determine the degree to which visual impairment could be reduced with better refractive correction, and correlate visual findings with retinal pathology. The vision data are being cleaned in conjunction with the data coordinating center. In 2005, several manuscripts were prepared, approved by the various stakeholders and submitted to journals for peer review. Additional new manuscript proposals were submitted for approval by the MESA study leadership. After the visual acuity and refraction data become available to the study investigators (likely to occur in late 2005), analyses of these data will proceed.