Relationship between peripapillary choroidal thickness and retinal nerve fiber layer in young people with myopia

To study the characteristics and relationship between peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and choroidal thickness in young people with myopia.

We retrospectively analyzed 92 cases (52 myopia, 40 emmetropia) regarding age, sex, refractive power, axial length (AL), and intraocular pressure. Peripapillary RNFL and choroidal thicknesses were measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT) in six sectors. Differences in thicknesses between the two groups were compared by single-factor analysis.

RNFL was thickest in the inferotemporal sector (157.3 ± 19.66 µm) and thinnest in the nasal sector (58.78 ± 18.41 µm). Peripapillary choroid was thickest in the superonasal sector (176.37 ± 33.92 µm) and thinnest in the inferotemporal sector (131.79 ± 25.22 µm). The RNFL was thinner in the myopia group (99.04 ± 8.23 µm) vs the emmetropia group (103.25 ± 8.32 µm); significantly different in the superotemporal and inferonasal sectors. Peripapillary choroid thickness in the myopia group (148.65 ± 26.64 µm) was lower vs the emmetropia group (160.88 ± 29.06 µm); significantly different in the nasal, inferonasal, and inferotemporal sectors. RNFL thickness was negatively correlated with choroidal thickness in the nasal sector (r = -0.288).

Peripapillary RNFL and choroidal thicknesses showed regional distributions. RNFL was negatively correlated with PCT in the nasal sector, possibly related to eye axis growth and choroidal compensation.