Abstract
Purpose :
Posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) progresses from stage 0 (no PVD), through stages 1 to 3 of partial PVD, and finally to stage 4 (complete PVD). Cross-sectional studies demonstrated that PVD stage increases with age and average vitreomacular adhesion area (VMAA) decreases. However, longitudinal studies capturing changes in individual eyes are lacking.
Methods :
We retrospectively evaluated PVD stage and VMAA in asymptomatic eyes of retina clinic patients who underwent repeated optical coherence tomography (OCT) screening for high-risk medication use or isolated retinal disease in the fellow eye.
Results :
We evaluated 101 eyes of 101 patients (71 female, 30 male; average age 50 years). 76 eyes remained in the same stage over the entire follow up period (average length 4.7 years). 23 eyes progressed from a lower stage to a higher stage. The data were used to create a statistical model to predict time to convert from stages 0-3 to stage 4 PVD. At age 30, time to convert to stage 4 was predicted to be 26 years; at age 40, it was 16 years; at age 50, it was 9 years; and at age 60, it was 8 years. VMAA was assessed in repeated scans from 37 eyes with stage 1 partial PVD. The rate of change in VMAA was similar across all subjects. The average population level yearly decline in VMAA was 0.13 mm2.
Conclusions :
Individuals vary in the age at which they progress to complete PVD, but the rate of VMAA change is similar between individuals.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.