Abstract
Purpose :
Middle-aged males (M) are at higher risk for decreased ocular blood flow and early endothelial dysfunction when compared to females (F). The purpose was to investigate sex differences in associations between retinal vessel diameter (RVD) with retinal ganglion cell (RGC) function, ganglion cell layer thickness (GCL-IPLT), and posterior pole retinal thickness measurements in middle-aged glaucoma suspects (GS)
Methods :
Fourteen consecutive (4M/10F) GS subjects (28 eyes) were enrolled in this prospective study at Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital. Participants underwent a comprehensive ophthalmologic exam, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) including posterior pole asymmetry analysis (PPAA), OCT-angiography (OCT-A), and pattern electroretinogram (PERG). RVD was measured on macular OCT-A 3x3 scan using Image J software. Subjects were divided by sex into 2 groups. PERG [magnitude (Mag), magnitudeD (MagD) and MagD/mag ratio] parameters, average GCL-IPL thickness, superior and inferior retinal thickness, and RVD measurements were recorded.
Results :
Independent sample T-test revealed that there were no significant differences between M and F by age (54.25 ± 8.15 vs 58.55±13.26), intraocular pressure (18.1± 3.2 vs 17.3 ±3.1), disc area, rim area and vertical C/D ratio. Males had significantly lower Mag (1.39 ±0.23 vs 1.93 ± 0.62), and MagD (1.10 ±0.27 vs 1.70 ±0.67). Ratio was lower in M (0.78 ± 0.09 vs 0.86 ±0.10), as well as GCL-IPLT (77.75 ± 4.10 vs 78.65 ± 5.98) and RVD (0.03 ±0.001 vs 0.03 ± 0.001) but these differences did not reach statistical significance. In the M group, linear regression models after adjusting for age, spherical equivalent, and race (Step 1), RVD (Step 2), explained 40.6% of variance in Mag (F (1,3)) =8.15, B=341.7, [95% CI: -39.2, 722.7], p=0.065). Similarly, RVD explained 7.6 % of variance in GCL-IPLT (F (1,4)) =8.39, B=3292.6, [95% CI: 137.5, 6447.7], p=0.044. No significant relationships were found in the F group. (fig 1)
Conclusions :
In middle aged males, significant associations were found between decreased RVD and RGC dysfunction, thinning in GCL-IPL and posterior pole retinal thickness, especially in the lower hemiretinas, when compared to females. These findings are in line with recent reports highlighting the higher prevalence of endothelial dysfunction in males between 40 to 65 when compared to age-matched females.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.