CHOROIDAL THICKNESS IN MULTISYSTEMIC AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES WITHOUT OPHTHALMOLOGIC MANIFESTATIONS

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Rheumatology
• Immunology

Background:

• Multisystemic autoimmune diseases can affect various organs.
• Ophthalmologic manifestations are known in some autoimmune conditions.
• Subclinical choroidal involvement in autoimmune diseases requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate choroidal morphology and thickness in patients with autoimmune diseases.
• To compare choroidal characteristics between different autoimmune diseases and healthy controls.
• To identify potential subclinical ocular involvement in autoimmune conditions.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cross-sectional study.
• Inclusion of 75 patients with autoimmune diseases and 80 healthy controls.
• Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography with enhanced depth imaging for choroidal thickness measurement.

Main Results:

• Lupus patients exhibited significantly thicker subfoveal choroids compared to controls.
• Patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases showed thinner choroids than controls.
• No morphologic abnormalities were detected, and results were adjusted for age, spherical equivalent, and steroid dose.

Conclusions:

• The choroid may be subclinically affected in autoimmune diseases.
• Choroidal response varies depending on the specific autoimmune condition.
• Infiltrative mechanisms in lupus may explain the observed choroidal thickening.