Abstract
Purpose:
To investigate the association between systemic hypertension and macular thickness.
Methods:
Clinical data of 889 Korean participants in previous Korean Twin Study were reviewed. All subjects underwent ocular examination, axial length measurement, and optical coherence tomography (OCT) using Stratus OCT. Body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, blood level of glucose and cholesterol, were measured.
Results:
Age, sex, axial length-adjusted analysis revealed that hypertension was associated with a significant decrease in macular thickness in 8 of 9 ETDRS ring subfields (P<0.01), except the central subfield. The further adjustment for BMI, diabetes, and smoking showed similar association except the central and outer nasal subfield.LDL, HDL, presence of diabetes, and smoking history showed no significant association.
Conclusions:
The thickness in most of macular area is reduced in subjects having systemic hypertension. The central subfield isthe area not affected by systemic hypertension.<br />