Assessment of the Effect of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder on Choroidal Thickness Using Spectral Domain
Serkan Akkaya1, Dondu Melek Ulusoy2, Hatice Dogan3
1Department of Ophthalmology, Ankara Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Insights
Pediatric patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) showed greater choroidal thickness compared to healthy children. This finding suggests potential links between choroidal thickness and the development of ADHD.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder.
- Ocular parameters, including choroidal thickness, are increasingly being investigated for their role in neurodevelopmental conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare choroidal thickness between pediatric patients diagnosed with ADHD and age- and sex-matched healthy controls.
- To investigate potential associations between choroidal thickness and ADHD.
Main Methods:
- A comparative, cross-sectional, and observational study design was employed.
- Choroidal thickness was measured using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).
- Participants included 138 pediatric patients (ADHD group and healthy controls).
Main Results:
- The ADHD group exhibited significantly greater mean choroidal thickness at the 1.5 mm temporal-to-fovea (TTF) measurement compared to controls (281.12±46.63 μm vs. 264.40±48.61 μm, p=0.042).
- No significant differences were found in other choroidal thickness measurements between the groups (p>0.05).
- Patient demographics (age, sex ratio) were comparable between the ADHD and control groups.
Conclusions:
- Choroidal thickness, specifically the TTF measurement at 1.5 mm, is significantly increased in pediatric patients with ADHD.
- These findings indicate that alterations in choroidal thickness may play a role in the etiology of ADHD.
Objectives:
This study was a comparison of the thickness of the choroid in pediatric patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and healthy pediatric controls.
Methods:
This study was comparative, cross-sectional, and observational in design. The healthy controls were age- and sex-matched with the members of the ADHD group and had no history of psychosis. Choroidal thickness was determined using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.
Results:
A total of 138 patients were enrolled with a male:female ratio of 54 (69.2%): 24 (30.8%) in the ADHD group and 41 (68.3%): 19 (31.7%) in the control group (p=0.910). The ADHD patients had a mean age of 9.4±1.9 years (range: 6-12 years) and the controls had a mean age of 9.9±2.2 years (range: 6-12 years) (p=0.213). The ADHD group (n=78 eyes tested) had a significantly higher mean choroidal thickness at 1.5 mm (temporal-to-fovea, TTF) measurement than the controls (n=60 eyes tested) (281.12±46.63 μm vs. 264.40±48.61 μm, p=0.042). There were no significant differences in any of the other choroidal thickness measurements (p>0.05).
Conclusion:
The choroidal thickness measurement (TTF) at 1.5 mm was significantly greater in the ADHD patients. These findings suggest that choroidal thickness alterations may have a potential role in the underlying etiology of ADHD.
