Peripapillary choroidal thickness in patients with early age-related macular degeneration and reticular pseudodrusen

The purpose of this study was to investigate peripapillary and macular choroidal thickness (CT) in patients with early age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with or without reticular pseudodrusen (RPD).

We investigated the medical records of 89 patients (89 eyes) with early AMD. The eyes were grouped into three categories according to the extent of RPD: no RPD, localized RPD, and diffuse RPD. Peripapillary and macular CT were measured with images obtained by spectral domain optical coherence tomography. CT in the peripapillary and macular areas was compared among groups.

Both RPD groups exhibited an older subject age and a greater female predominance compared to the non-RPD group (P = 0.007 and P = 0.030, respectively). Macular and peripapillary CT were different among the three groups (all, P < 0.001), and both RPD groups showed a thinner choroid in all areas compared to the non-RPD group after adjusting for age and sex (all, P ≤ 0.016). Temporal peripapillary and nasal macular CT at 500 μm and 1500 μm, respectively, from the fovea in eyes with diffuse RPD were significantly thinner than that in eyes with localized RPD (P = 0.008, P = 0.016 and P < 0.001, respectively).

In addition to the macular area, the peripapillary CT, including the area outside the macula, was thinner in eyes with RPD than in those without RPD. Significant differences in the papillomacular choroid were observed based on RPD distribution type, which suggests that variation in CT is based on the extent of RPD.