Abstract
Purpose :
The choroid plays a role and goes through changes in many retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The effect of sex on choroidal thickness has been studied in search of an explanation of why some conditions are more common in males while others in females. In this study, we investigated the effect of sex on subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) between AMD and healthy control eyes.
Methods :
A multi-center retrospective analysis was done on 446 AMD patients and 518 controls from Massachusetts Eye and Ear and from the Thessaloniki Eye Study. The SFCT was measured manually from optical coherence tomography images on the Heidelberg software. One eye for each patient was included in the analysis. The t-test was used to analyze the differences in SFCT between sexes. Multiple regression models were conducted to compare SFCT between males and females while controlling for age and axial length (AL), which are known to possibly impact SFCT.
Results :
The mean age of AMD patients and controls were 68.01 (±5.02) and 65.91 (±8.80) years, respectively. In the control group, males have significantly thinner SFCTs than females (211.17±83.46 µm and 228.12±88.82 µm respectively, p=0.024), with an average age of 65.79 (±8.98) for males and 66.03 (±8.62) for females. Sex did not have any statistical effect on SFCT in the AMD group (p=0.335). After adjusting for age and AL, SFCTs between males and females of the control group were no longer significant (p=0.600).
Male controls aged <60 years had thicker SFCTs than females when controlling for age and axial length, but the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.312). A significantly thinner SFCT was found in males ages 60-69 years in the control group (p=0.013), but not after adjusting for age and axial length (p=0.366). Males had thinner choroids than females in all age groups of AMD, but the differences were not significant.
Conclusions :
Sex was not associated with SFCTs of both controls and AMD in this study, which stands in contrast to several reports of males having a thicker choroid. Though we were underpowered to show a significant effect, it appears males may have a thicker choroid only in people under 60 years of age.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.