Choroidal Volume Variations with Age, Axial Length, and Sex in Healthy Subjects: A Three-Dimensional Analysis

Abstract

Purpose To demonstrate the three-dimensional choroidal volume distribution in healthy subjects using enhanced depth imaging (EDI) spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and to evaluate its association with age, sex, and axial length. Design Retrospective case series. Participants One hundred and seventy six eyes from 114 subjects with no retinal or choroidal disease. Methods EDI SD-OCT imaging studies for healthy patients who had undergone a 31-raster scanning protocol on a commercial SD-OCT device were reviewed. Manual segmentation of the choroid was performed by two retinal specialists. Macular choroidal volume map and three-dimensional topography were automatically created by the built-in software of the device. Mean choroidal volume was calculated for each Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) subfield. Regression analyses were used to evaluate the correlation between macular choroidal volume and age, sex, and axial length. Main Outcome Measures Three-dimensional topography and ETDRS-style volume map of the choroid. Results Three-dimensional topography of the choroid and volume map was obtained in all cases. The mean choroidal volume was 0.228 ± 0.077 mm3 for the center ring and 7.374 ± 2.181 mm3 for the total ETDRS grid. The nasal quadrant showed the lowest choroidal volume, and the superior quadrant the highest. The temporal and inferior quadrants did not show different choroidal volume values. Choroidal volume in all the EDTRS rings was significantly correlated with axial length after adjustment for age (P<0.0001), with age after adjustment for axial length (P<0.0001) and with sex after adjustment for axial length (P<0.05). Choroidal volume decreases by 0.54 mm3 (7.32%) for every decade and by 0.56 mm3 (7.59%) for every mm of axial length. Males have a 7.37% greater choroidal volume compared to that of females. Conclusions EDI SD-OCT is non-invasive and well-tolerated procedure with an excellent ability to visualize three-dimensional topography of the choroid and to measure choroidal volume at the posterior pole using manual segmentation. Age and axial length are inversely correlated with choroidal volume, most likely leading to changes in retinal metabolic support in old and high myopic patients. Sexual differences should be considered when interpreting an EDI SD-OCT scan of the choroid.

Choroidal Thickness and Volume in Healthy Young White Adults and the Relationships between them and Axial Length, Ammetropy and Sex

“…In adults over a mean age of 45 years old, Hirata et al 9 found a total volume of 5.411±2.097 mm 3 (mean age 65 years); Shin et al 28 reported a total volume of 7.72±1.2 mm 3 (mean age M A N U S C R I P T , respectively. Differences in choroidal volume between the sexes were reported by these same authors, 29 with the values for males being 7.37% greater than those for females. We found similar total volumes for both females and males, as shown in Table 4, with no significant differences in certain areas.…”

Macular Choroidal Thickness in Children: The Shandong Children Eye Study

“…Li et al 26 reported that choroidal thickness was 18% higher in men than in women in young adults. Barteselli et al 30 measured the choroidal volume and reported that men had significantly higher choroidal volume than women. As the relationship between age and SFCT, the association between sex and SFCT in our study population was relatively weak with a standardized correlation coefficient b of À0.07 and a P value of 0.04 (Table 2).…”

Choroidal Thickness in Nonarteritic Anterior Ischaemic Optic Neuropathy: A Study with Optical Coherence Tomography

“…The methodology adopted in this work-measurement of CT at 9 points per eye-aims to reduce this error. However, the measurement of choroidal volume 55 or the development of automatic software would certainly be better ways to study its anatomy.…”