Choroidal Thickness in Young Adults and its Association with Visual Acuity

Samantha S. Y. Lee; Gareth Lingham; David Alonso-Caneiro; Fred K. Chen; Seyhan Yazar; Alex W. Hewitt; David A. Mackey

doi:10.1016/j.ajo.2020.02.012

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Choroidal Thickness in Young Adults and its Association with Visual Acuity

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Choroidal Thickness in Young Adults and its Association with Visual Acuity

Samantha S. Y. Lee, Gareth Lingham, David Alonso-Caneiro, Fred K. Chen, Seyhan Yazar, Alex W. Hewitt and David A. Mackey

American Journal of Ophthalmology, Vol.214, pp.40-51

2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajo.2020.02.012

PMID: 32112771

Abstract

PURPOSE: To describe the choroidal thickness (ChT) in a large sample of young adults with the aim of establishing a normative ChT profile reference in this demographic cohort and explore its association with best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA). DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: From a single center, 741 young adults (1930 years of age, 49% male) were recruited to undergo a comprehensive ophthalmic examination, including BCVA measurement, post-cycloplegic autorefraction, ocular biometry, tonometry, and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) imaging. The enhanced depth imaging mode on the SD-OCT was used. The main outcome measure was the central macular ChT (0.5-mm radius around the fovea). The ChTs at the inner (between 0.5-mm and 1.5-mm radius) and outer macular rings (between 1.5-mm and 2.5-mm radius) were also measured. RESULTS: The median central macular ChT was 370 pm (interquartile range 312-406 mu m). The choroid was thickest at the superior-inner, inferior-inner, and central macular regions (370-373 pm) and thinnest nasally at the outer macular region (median 256 pm). Decreased central macular ChT was associated with younger age, female sex, nonwhite ethnicities, and myopia (P =.013). There was a significant association between better BCVA and increased central macular ChT (P <.001), after adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, and ocular measures. His relationship was only apparent in eyes with central macular ChTs < 300 pm (P =.019) and absent in eyes with ChTs > 300 mu m. CONCLUSIONS: The central ChT of young adults was 370 Rm. There was a significant association between worse BCVA and thinner choroids below a threshold of 300 pm, raising the possibility that ChT could be predictive of visual function. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Details

Title: Choroidal Thickness in Young Adults and its Association with Visual Acuity
Authors: Samantha S. Y. Lee (Corresponding Author) - University of Western Australia
Gareth Lingham (Author) - University of Western Australia
David Alonso-Caneiro (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
Fred K. Chen (Author) - University of Western Australia
Seyhan Yazar (Author) - University of Western Australia
Alex W. Hewitt (Author) - University of Western Australia
David A. Mackey (Author) - University of Western Australia
Publication details: American Journal of Ophthalmology, Vol.214, pp.40-51
Publisher: Elsevier Inc.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajo.2020.02.012
ISSN: 1879-1891
PMID: 32112771
Organisation Unit: School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99973595502621
Output Type: Journal article