[Normal macular thickness and volume using spectral domain optical coherence tomography in a reference population]

To establish normal values of macular thickness and volume obtained by the Cirrus SD-OCT (Carl ZeissMeditec, Dublin, CA, U.S.A.). Secondly, to assess the association between macular thickness and volume, sex and age.

A prospective study was conducted on patients who were seen in a hospital Retina Unit, and who only had retinal disease in one eye. All the Macular Cube 512 × 128 scan protocols were performed by the same operator. Only the healthy eye was scanned in each patient.

A total of 100 eyes of 100 patients were analysed. The mean central foveal thickness was 261.31 ± 17.67 microns, and was significantly (P<.05) higher in males (267.74 ± 16.98 microns) than in females (255.60 ± 16.40 microns). The mean obtained for the volume of the cube was 10.09 ± 0.37mm 3, and the mean thickness of 280.33 ± 10.34 cube um, with no statistically significant differences between gender being found (P<.05). The mean macular thickness is less at central level, increases in the inner perifoveal ring, and then decreases in the outer perifoveal ring. Furthermore, of all quadrants the greatest thickness was the nasal (328.27 ± 12.96 microns), followed by the upper (326.27 ± 11.89 microns), lower (322.53 ± 12.37mm) sectors, with the temporal sector being the thinnest (313.35 ± 14.20 microns). The mean age of the patients was 60.86 ± 14 years.

The mean central foveal thickness and the thickness of the inner perifoveal ring are significantly higher in men than in women. Both the mean volume and thickness of the cube, as well as nasal and inner superior sectors decrease with age, being significantly only in women.