Choroidal Thickness and Open-Angle Glaucoma: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Glaucoma Research
• Choroidal Imaging

Background:

• Choroidal thickness abnormalities have been inconsistently reported in open-angle glaucoma (OAG).
• Enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT) is used to measure choroidal thickness.
• Previous studies show conflicting results regarding choroidal thickness in OAG.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a meta-analysis and systematic review.
• To evaluate choroidal thickness in patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG).
• To resolve inconsistencies in previous research findings.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature search across multiple databases (Medline, Embase, Web of Science, etc.).
• Inclusion of 22 case-control or cross-sectional studies.
• Statistical analysis using weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) via STATA 12.0.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in subfoveal choroidal thickness between OAG patients and controls (WMD=-7.94; 95% CI, -26.01 to 10.13; P=0.389).
• No significant difference in average peripapillary choroidal thickness (WMD=-14.24; 95% CI, -30.20 to 1.73; P=0.08).
• Results based on 22 included studies.

Conclusions:

• Choroidal thickness under the fovea and around the optic nerve head does not significantly differ between OAG patients and controls.
• Choroidal thickness may not be a suitable parameter for assessing OAG damage.
• Choroidal thinning is unlikely to be a key factor in glaucomatous optic neuropathy.