Abstract
Purpose :
The choroid has the highest perfusion rate compared with any other vascular bed within the human body; therefore, the metabolic syndrome (MS) which affect other highly irrigated organs may also influence the choroid. The aim of this study was to measure peripapillary choroidal thickness (PPCT) and assess its association with the components of the MS in a Portuguese population.
Methods :
The cross-sectional prospective study included 104 eyes. Detailed medical and ophthalmic examinations were performed; the PPCT was measured by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography using enhanced depth imaging modality and the relations with the MS parameters were investigated
Results :
The mean age was 65±11.4 years, 57.7% were women, and 42.3% had MS. Mean global PPCT was 142.4±54.0 µm (58-303 µm). The peripapillary choroid was thickest superiorly, followed by the temporal, nasal and inferior sectors. The presence of MS was associated with a thinner choroid in all evaluated sectors, being statistically significant in the temporal (p=0.032) and inferotemporal (p=0.034) sectors. In multivariate analysis, thicker PPCT was significantly associated with shorter axial length (p <0.001) which was the most important factor, followed by younger age (p=0.001), higher weight (p=0.015), lower intraocular pressure (IOP) (p=0.041) and absence of arterial hypertension (p=0.044)
Conclusions :
This is the first study of the PPCT in Portuguese individuals. PPCT with a mean of 142.4±54.0 µm is thickest superiorly and thinnest inferiorly and it decreases by 2 µm per year and 24.6 µm per mm increased of axial length. MS appears to have a role in peripapillary choroid since it was associated with a reduced thickness that was significant in temporal and inferotemporal sectors. Our finding may be the first anatomic evidence to show possibilities of vascular compromises around the optic nerve head related to the MS.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.