Macular choroidal thickness in Chinese preschool children: decrease with axial length but no evident change with age
Xian-Gui He1,2,3, Jun-Jie Deng2,3, Yao Yin2
1Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, Ministry of Education, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
Insights
Choroidal thickness (ChT) in Chinese preschoolers is stable with age but negatively associated with axial length. This finding aids understanding early refractive development and ocular health in children.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatric Optometry
- Retinal Imaging
Background:
- Macular choroidal thickness (ChT) is a key indicator of ocular health.
- Understanding ChT development in early childhood is crucial for monitoring refractive development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the distribution of macular choroidal thickness (ChT) in Chinese preschoolers.
- To analyze the association between ChT, age, and refractive status in this population.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 550 healthy Chinese preschoolers aged 3-6 years.
- Ocular examinations included visual acuity, axial length, refraction, and swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) for macular ChT measurement.
- ChT was analyzed across ETDRS grid sectors and correlated with age, gender, and refractive parameters.
Main Results:
- Mean central ChT was 312±59 µm. Axial length increased with age, but ChT remained stable across age groups and genders.
- No significant differences in ChT were found across different refractive groups, although a trend towards thinner choroids in myopic children was observed.
- Longer axial length and lower weight were independently associated with thinner central ChT.
Conclusions:
- Macular ChT is relatively stable in preschool children.
- A negative association exists between ChT and axial length, suggesting its importance in early refractive development.
- These findings provide insights into the ocular characteristics influencing refractive development in young children.
Aim:
To explore the distribution pattern of macular choroidal thickness (ChT) and its association with age as well as refractive status in Chinese preschoolers.
Methods:
School-based, cross-sectional study. A total of 550 healthy preschool children aged 3 to 6 years old from 6 kindergartens were enrolled. Comprehensive ocular examinations, including measurement of visual acuity, axial length, intraocular pressure and slit-lamp examination before cycloplegia, as well as refraction measurement and swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) examination after cycloplegia, were performed. The macular ChT in each sector of the ETDRS grid was measured by the built-in software of SS-OCT.
Results:
The mean central ChT of the participants was 312±59 µm. The mean axial length and spherical equivalent refraction were 22.36±0.72 mm and 1.51±0.83 D, respectively. Axial length increased with age (P<0.001), while the spherical equivalent refraction was similar among different age groups. Similarly, no significant difference was observed in ChT in all sectors among different age groups (all P>0.05). The central ChT of 3-4, 5 and 6 years old children was 314±59 µm, 312±60 µm and 312±59 µm, respectively (P=0.920). No difference was observed in ChT in most of the sectors between genders. No statistical significant difference was observed among different refractive groups (all P>0.05), though the ChT of each sector seemed to be smaller in myopic children. Axial length and weight were the independent factors of central ChT. Children with longer axial length (β=-21.184, P<0.001) and smaller weight (β=1.502, P=0.041) tended to have thinner choroid.
Conclusion:
In preschool children, the ChT remains relatively stable with age, while a negative association between ChT and axial length existed. This will be helpful to elucidate the characteristics of ChT during the early refractive development.
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