Normal aging changes in the choroidal angioarchitecture of the macula

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging
• Choroidal vascularity analysis

Background:

• The choroidal vascularity index (CVI) is a sensitive indicator of choroidal angioarchitecture changes in various ocular diseases.
• Understanding CVI changes related to normal aging and spatial distribution is crucial, as many age-related ocular conditions involve choroidal degeneration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between normal physiological aging, spatial distribution, and choroidal vascularity index (CVI) in healthy eyes.
• To determine how choroidal angioarchitecture changes with age and across different retinal eccentricities.

Main Methods:

• Assessed CVI in 106 healthy eyes from individuals aged 21-78 years.
• Analyzed CVI at 15 eccentricities across the macula, in both superior and inferior directions.
• Utilized quadratic regression to model CVI changes as a function of age and eccentricity.

Main Results:

• Total choroidal area, luminal area, and stromal area significantly decreased with age (p < 0.001).
• CVI significantly decreased with both age (p < 0.01) and eccentricity.
• A decline in CVI was observed from ages 33-43, with rates of 0.7-2.7% per decade, showing lower values in the inferior versus superior retina.

Conclusions:

• Choroidal angioarchitecture begins to decline from the fourth decade of life.
• Age-related decline in CVI shows potential differences between the inferior and superior retina.
• These findings provide foundational knowledge for understanding choroidal involvement in age-related eye diseases.