Abstract
Purpose :
There is only limited information available on the effect of physical exercise on the retina. Our aim was to obtain in vivo dynamic data of retinal changes following intensive physical exercise using optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Methods :
We enrolled 30 eyes of 15 professional sportsmen (S Group) and 16 eyes of 11 control adults (C group) (mean age 22,4±5,2 vs 25,4±4,8 years, respectively). Macular scanning with Spectralis SD-OCT was performed in the enrolled eyes. All subjects underwent a vita maxima-type physical straining exercise with increasing work load until complete fatigue. We made OCT follow-up examinations 1, 5, 15, 30 and 60 minutes post exercise (p.e.). The OCT images were exported and analyzed using OCTRIMA 3D software and the thickness of 7 retinal layers was calculated. One-way ANOVA analysis was performed, followed by Dunnett post-hoc test in the two groups separately. The value of significance was set at 5%.
Results :
In both groups the total thickness of the macula decreased greatly at 1minute p.e. which disappeared at 15 minutes. The changes reached statistical significance only in the S group (ANOVA p=0,081 vs. p<0,001 in the C and S groups, respectively) with significance only at 1 minute p.e. (p=0,003) on Dunnett test. (See Fig. 1) When looking at intraretinal changes the trough at 1 minute was well visible in the GCL+IPL, INL, ONL and OS layers in both groups, with significance at ANOVA only in the S group for the ONL (p=0,01) and OS (p<0,001). In the ONL group there were no significant differences compared to baseline while in the case of the OS the trough was similar at 1 and 5 min p.e. (p=0,005 and p=0,01, respectively), normalizing slowly.
Conclusions :
Our results give evidence that the entire retina, mostly the outer retina and the photoreceptors undergo significant changes after physical exercise which is more pronounced in professional sportsmen. A reason for this could be the change in choroidal circulation, the measurement of which was outside the scope of this work. Further studies are needed to help us better understand the changes in the retina after physical exercise that could also result in a better understanding of retinal pathophysiology.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.