In vivo assessment of macula in eyes of healthy children 8 to 16 years old using optical coherence tomography angiography

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the vascular flow density (VD) of macular superficial (SCP), deep capillary plexus (DCP), and choriocapillaris and the size of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area in healthy children using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). The potential associations of age, sex, intraocular pressure, body mass index, spherical equivalent, and axial length with OCTA parameters were also investigated. A total of 75 eyes from 75 healthy children were included for analysis, with the mean age 11.51 ± 1.91 years (range, 8–16 years). At the level of the SCP, mean VD and mean FAZ area were, respectively, 54.29 ± 2.25% and 0.290 ± 0.109 mm2. At the level of the DCP and choriocapillaris, mean VD were 60.19 ± 1.76% and 66.58 ± 1.33%, respectively. After adjustment on the signal strength index, there was no significant correlation between age and all OCTA parameters. Intra-observer repeatability was 0.91, 0.82, and 0.88 in the SCP, DCP and choriocapillaris, respectively. In healthy eyes of children, only sex has a significant influence on the FAZ area. OCTA may provide a noninvasive and reliable approach for evaluating macular perfusion in children, although sex-related variations should be considered.

Sex-Related Variations of Retinal and Choroidal Thickness and Foveal Avascular Zone in Healthy and Diabetic Children Assessed by Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging

“…These findings are consistent with previous studies on adults [7-9]. The study by Zhang et al [13], which examined Chinese children aged 8–16 years also showed a smaller FAZ surface area in boys in the SCP. However, to the best of our knowledge, the present work is the first study to show a smaller FAZ surface area in the DCP in boys compared with girls and to report a gender difference in FAZ dimensions in European children with and without vascular pathology.…”

“…It was previously shown in adult subjects [10], and the same trend was noticed in Chinese children by Zhang et al [13]. However, unlike the present study, they failed to show a significant difference.…”

“…Coscas et al [14] found a higher retinal vascular density in females than in males > 60 years of age and attributed this difference to a slower vascular aging in females. Nonetheless, the results of the present study and the observations by Zhang et al [13] showing differences in FAZ parameters in childhood, as well as the presence of the same trend in the control group in the present study, point towards a physiological gender difference rather than an age-related phenomenon.…”

“…Conversely, the central choroidal thickness was shown to be thinner in boys (Table 1). Interestingly, the study by Zhang et al [13] showed an opposite trend with a significantly thicker central choroidal thickness in boys. This discrepancy could be due to the methodological differences between the studies, or it could reflect an ethnical anatomical variation, which has previously been noted [10].…”

Repeatability, interocular correlation and agreement of quantitative swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography macular metrics in healthy subjects

“…In the literature, a study by Liu et al 21 reported moderate correlation for the superficial capillary plexus density (Spearman’s correlation r=0.402) between the fellow eyes, while another article by Zhang et al 23 used Pearson’s correlation and found the foveal vessel density has high correlation (r=0.888). There are two possible reasons for the inconsistency between our results and the literature.…”