Abstract
Purpose :
Knowledge about choroidal blood flow is essential for understanding pathological conditions and the treatment of chorioretinal diseases. Thus, the purpose of this study to investigate the relationship between choroidal blood flow and choroidal thickness in healthy eyes.
Methods :
This prospective, observational, cross-sectional study was performed for 133 eyes of 133 healthy Japanese subject at the Nagoya University Hospital. The exclusion criteria included the presence of any macular abnormalities such as choroidal neovascularization, a history of ophthalmic, topical, or systemic medications, systolic blood pressure (SBP) > 150 mm Hg, and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) > 90 mm Hg. The mean blur rate (MBR), a measure of the relative blood flow of the choroid, was determined using laser speckle flowgraphy. The total cross-sectional choroidal area and luminal and stromal areas of the choroid were determined by the binarization method. We investigated the correlation between choroidal MBR and systemic and ocular variables, including age, gender, axial length, optic nerve head (ONH) MBR, subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), circulation factors, and choroidal area as determined by the binarization method.
Results :
The choroidal MBR correlated with the ONH MBR (r = 0.380, p < 0.001), age (r = −0.414, p < 0.001), SFCT (r = 0.206, p = 0.019), SBP (r = −0.227, p = 0.009), DBP (r = −0.203, p = 0.019) and mean ocular perfusion pressure (MOPP)( r = −0.224, p = 0.010). The choroidal area determined by the binarization method correlated with the choroidal MBR (r = 0.216, p = 0.013), age (r = −0.266, p < 0.001), gender (r = −0.200, p < 0.021), and SFCT (r = 0.723, p < 0.001). The luminal area correlated with the choroidal MBR (r = 0.251, p = 0.004), age (r = −0.316, p < 0.001), SFCT (r = 0.719, p < 0.001), DBP (r = −0.225, p = 0.009), and MOPP (r = −0.229, p = 0.008).The multiple stepwise regression analysis revealed that age (β = −0.351, p < 0.001) and the ONH MBR (β = 0.309, p < 0.001) were independent factors indicating the choroid MBR, and that age (β = −0.302, p < 0.001) and gender (β = -0.190, p = 0.022) were independent factors indicating the luminal area.
Conclusions :
Our data suggest that aging causes a reduction in choroidal blood flow and the choroidal area, including the luminal area, and because of an aging effect, reduced choroidal blood flow was correlated with decreased luminal area.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.