Abstract
Purpose :
To evaluate the effect of alcohol intake on eyes of peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer thickness (RNFL) and macular Ganglion Cell-Inner Plexiform Layer thickness (GCIPL) in Chinese patients, aged 50 and above, without glaucoma.
Methods :
A cross-sectional random population-based study conducted between 1 January 2023 and 31st of December 2023, where Chinese subjects aged 50 and above underwent comprehensive vision assessment, ocular examination and ocular imaging. A questionnaire on lifestyle habits was conducted, including duration and amount of regular alcohol intake. 587 subjects with history of long-term regular alcohol intake, and 663 age-matched subjects with no history of regular alcohol intake were selected for analysis and comparison. Subjects who were diagnosed with glaucoma during the study were excluded from analysis. The RNFL layer and GCIPL layer of subjects were determined using Zeiss Cirrus High Definition Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). The left eye of each subject was selected for analysis.
Results :
Among the drinkers and non-drinkers, the mean value of both the average peripapillary RNFL thickness and average GCIPL thickness are found to be statistically significantly higher in non-drinkers with 98.05 µm (±6.86 µm) 82.54 µm (±4.67 µm) respectively. While the mean value of average RNFL thickness and GCIPL thickness of drinkers are lower with 94.40 µm (±10.67 µm) and 80.61 µm (±8.77 µm) respectively.
For the correlation part, the average peripapillary RNFL thickness and the superior quadrant of RNFL are found to be significantly negatively correlated with the number of years of alcohol consumption. For the macular GCIPL, the average thickness, nasal-superior and nasal-inferior part of the GCIPL are shown to be significantly negatively correlated with the number of years spent on drinking alcohol.
Conclusions :
Long-term alcohol consumption may result in thinning of RNFL and GCIPL layers. The results mean it is important to consider 1) the possibility of alcohol-related optic neuropathy in long-term alcoholics, and 2) the confounding effect of alcohol consumption on glaucoma diagnosis and monitoring.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Imaging in the Eye Conference, held in Seattle, WA, May 4, 2024.