Analysis of central macular thickness and choroidal thickness changes in patients with cardiovascular risk factors

The aim of this study was to evaluate central macular thickness (CMT) and choroidal thickness (CT) in the eyes of patients with cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF).

A cross-sectional, prospective observational study of 92 patients with CVRF and 21 healthy individuals was conducted. Patients were divided into four groups according to the SCORE system. CMT was evaluated via spectral-domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). CT at five defined points (subfoveal) [SF] and nasal 500 μm [N0.5] and 1500 μm [N1.5] and 500 μm [T0.5] and temporal 1500 μm [T1.5] from the center of the fovea were measured via enhanced depth imaging (EDI)-OCT.

Mean SFCT at right eyes (RE) and left eyes (LE) were 311.21 ± 77.7 μm and 303.5 ± 49.6 μm, respectively, in patients with mild CVRF (Group 1); 266.5 ± 63.2 μm and 267.0 ± 62.6 μm, respectively, in patients with moderate CVRF (Group 2); 264.7 ± 57.5 μm and 272.3 ± 64.6 μm, respectively, in patients with high CVRF (Group 3); 272.3 ± 64.6 μm and 271.2 ± 63.4 μm, respectively, in patients with very high-risk CVRF (with coronary arterial disease (CAD) (Group 4); and 352.0 ± 74.4 μm and 363.1 ± 89.0 μm, respectively, in the control group. CT (at both eyes) was significantly lower at the subfoveal location in all study groups (P < 0.05), but at nasal and at temporal quadrants of group 3 and group 4 (P < 0.05). No significant difference in CMT was detected between the study and control groups.

This study demonstrated that CVRF might result in a remarkably thinner CT. Furthermore, subretinal drusenoid deposits were detected at a higher rate in the patients with CVRF than controls, and that rate increased in accordance with the severity of CAD. In the future, changes in CT may be used as a promising novel biomarker as part of the SCORE system prior to the development of CAD.