Abstract
Purpose :
Horizontal transfoveal optical coherence tomography scans have a characteristic profile in healthy subjects, with a localized thickness minimum in the fovea, both for the total retina and its inner sublayers, and on either side of the fovea a nasal and a temporal peak that are part of the same perifoveal ridge. Differences in macular shape have been found to be of clinical relevance in some conditions, like in autosomal dominant optic neuropathy (ADOA), where the thickness ratio is inverted. This cross sectional study examined selected characteristics of the horizontal transfoveal profile of the retina in subjects from the CCC2000 Study and its association to various anthropometric variables.
Methods :
The study included 1191 healthy children, 565 male and 626 females, aged 11-12 years with a mean age of 11.7 (SD 0.40) born in the Copenhagen County in the year 2000. Exclusion criteria were insufficient OCT scan quality (Q < 25), missing anthropometric data, being a twin, BCVA < 0,8, pathology or previous trauma. The total thickness of the macula and the combined thickness of the ganglion cell layer and the inner plexiform layer (GC-IPL) were measured manually at the point of maximal retinal thickness nasal and temporal of the fovea. The ratio of the nasal and temporal side thicknesses was then compared to estimates from ADOA patients with a t-test. The relationship between thicknesses and anthropometric variables was analyzed using multiple linear regression.
Results :
Total retinal thickness nasal of fovea had a mean value of 364.50 (SD 14.36 μm) and temporal of the fovea the mean was 342.62 (SD 14.07 μm). The GC-IPL had a mean thickness nasal of the fovea of 109.43 (SD 7.70 μm) and temporal of the fovea it was 95.74 (SD 8.77 μm). The mean GC-IPL thickness ratio between nasal and temporal side of the fovea was 1.15, which is significant different from the ratio of 0.95 reported in ADOA patients (P<0.001). Longer axial length was associated with a thinner total retinal thickness. Girls had a thinner total retinal thickness as well as GC-IPL than boys.
Conclusions :
The thickness ratio of healthy subjects was different from the ratio to ADOA, which suggests the inverted shape profile being plausible. The total retinal thickness as well as GCL-IPL being thinner in girls could be due to earlier pubertal development in girls compared to boys.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.