Choroidal Thickness in Indigenous Australian Children

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the choroidal thickness profiles in visually normal Australian Indigenous children, given the important role of the choroid in refractive error and a range of ocular diseases. Methods: Choroidal thickness was assessed across the central 5 mm macular region using enhanced depth imaging spectral domain optical coherence tomography, in 250 children enrolled in an elementary school and a secondary school in rural Queensland, Australia. One hundred (40%) of these children identified as Indigenous Australians. Results: The subfoveal choroid was significantly thicker in Indigenous children (mean 369 ± 75 μm), compared to non-Indigenous children (355 ± 73 μm; P = 0.03). Subfoveal choroidal thickness was also significantly associated with age (β = +7.6, r 2 = 0.105, P = 0.003), and axial length (β = −19.9, r 2 = 0.030, P < 0.001). A significantly thicker choroid in Indigenous children was also found in analyses across the central 5 mm macular region (P = 0.008). A significant interaction between Indigenous status and meridian was observed (P = 0.007) with the largest differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children being in the nasal and inferonasal meridians. Conclusions: This study establishes the normative characteristics of macular choroidal thickness in Indigenous Australian children and demonstrates a significantly thicker choroid compared to non-Indigenous children from the same geographic region. These results may have implications for our understanding of factors predisposing or protecting Australian Indigenous people from a range of conditions associated with choroidal thickness. Translational Relevance: The significantly thicker choroid in Australian Indigenous children should be considered in clinical diagnoses and management of conditions associated with choroidal changes.

Choroidal Thickening During Young Adulthood and Baseline Choroidal Thickness Predicts Refractive Error Change

“…We nevertheless managed to find a significant age-related change in ChT with the included study sample. Moreover, our current sample size remains larger than or similar to those of many previous longitudinal 8 , 9 , 11 , 55 or cross-sectional 7 , 10 , 15 , 17 , 20 , 21 studies (approximately 100–200) that have described age-related variations in the choroidal thickness. Although there was a statistically significant age difference between participants included and excluded from the analysis, the age difference was small (approximately 0.2 years or 2.4 months).…”

“…In younger 6 – 12 , 14 – 16 or older 17 – 20 age groups, ChT and its variation with age have been profiled by several studies. Longitudinal 8 , 9 and cross-sectional studies 6 , 7 , 14 , 15 , 21 in Western populations have suggested that the ChT tends to increase during childhood, with a slower rate of thickening noted with faster axial elongation. 8 , 9 On the other hand, studies in East Asia, which has a larger proportion of myopes, have argued that the ChT tends to decrease or does not vary with age during childhood.…”

Optical Coherence Tomography–Derived Measurements of the Optic Nerve Head Structure of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children

“…All measurements were conducted between 9 am and 3 pm . Results from the analyses of refractive error, stereoacuity, color vision, ocular alignment, accommodation and vergence function, ocular biometry, and macular OCT measures in this population have been reported previously 18–21 …”

“…Results from the analyses of refractive error, stereoacuity, color vision, ocular alignment, accommodation and vergence function, ocular biometry, and macular OCT measures in this population have been reported previously. [18][19][20][21] The Heidelberg Spectralis SD-OCT uses a superluminescent diode with a central wavelength of 870 nm, capturing 40,000 A-scans per second, to generate images with a digital axial resolution of 3.9 µm and transverse resolution of ~5.8 µm. With the left eye occluded, 2 highresolution (1024 A-scans) ONH scans were performed, each consisting of a horizontal and a vertical 20-degree long scan, centered on the middle of the ONH to determine the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the ONH and neuroretinal rim and to measure the thickness of the peripapillary RNFL.…”

Analysis of macular choroidal thickness in normal Taiwanese eyes by enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography

“…2 Currently, some studies have investigated macular choroidal thickness and the relationships with certain clinical parameters based on different ethnicities and clinical schemes using OCTs. 3,4 However, few previous studies underwent comprehensive surveys regarding the relationship between macular choroidal thickness and clinical factors in Asian people with normal eyes, and no study has investigated that in the healthy Taiwanese population, which should be further studied for providing important regional The results of the analysis turned out that the mean choroidal thickness was 248.3 ± 83.8 μm. Pearson's correlation revealed that age (r = À0.179, p = 0.002) and SERE (r = 0.120, p = 0.043) had a significant correlation with the macular choroidal thickness; however, gender (r = 0.032, p = 0.582) and AL (r = À0.049, p = 0.403) were not related to macular choroidal thickness after the analysis.…”