Abstract
Purpose: :
The aim of this study is to assess the correlation of age, gender, body mass index (BMI), spherical equivalence and intraocular pressure with central and parafoveal retinal thickness measured by OCT.
Methods: :
One hundred eyes of 105 healthy volunteers were included in a prospective study between September 2004 and August 2005. Height and weight measurements were measured first. No contact measurements of refraction and air tonometry were performed. After, all subjects underwent a complete ophthalmic examination including slit lamp bio microscopy, and binocular ophthalmoscopy. 20 volunteers were chosen to receive a duplicate measurement 6 months later so that the reproducibility could be assessed. For macular measurements, the OCT generates six linear scans 30° apart, centred on the fovea. A retinal map that divided the scanned area into 5 zones (A1–A5) was produced by OCT software.
Results: :
Data were analyzed using the SPSS 11.5 software package. Using multiple regressions with a stepwise procedure, all significant parameters were adjusted. In our study, macular thickness is significantly higher in male than in female. As for limitations in our study, our regression model shows a coefficient of determination (r²) of 0.195 when using BMI, gender, and spherical equivalence. Hence, our study has only evaluated some of the parameters that may affect retinal thickness and there could be other parameters involved affecting retinal thickness.
Conclusions: :
Our study shows that the measurement of retinal thickness by OCT may be affected by gender. This parameter should be considered in assessing retinal thickening and this result should be taken into consideration when determining macular disease with this instrument.
Keywords: retina • retinal development • anatomy