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Choroidal Thickness Profiles and Associated Factors in Myopic Children
Emmanuel Kobia-Acquah, Daniel Ian Flitcroft, Gareth Lingham1
1Centre for Eye Research Ireland, School of Physics, Clinical and Optometric Sciences, College of Sciences and Health, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Insights
Choroidal thickness (ChT) in European children varies by macular location, with thinner ChT linked to longer axial length and higher myopia. These findings offer insights for myopia progression risk assessment.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatric Ophthalmology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Choroidal thickness (ChT) data in European children is limited.
- Understanding ChT profiles is crucial for monitoring myopia progression.
- ChT may serve as a biomarker for myopia treatment efficacy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate choroidal thickness profiles in myopic children.
- To identify factors associated with choroidal thickness variations.
- To establish a baseline for longitudinal ChT studies in pediatric myopia.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of baseline data from 250 myopic children (aged 6-16) in a clinical trial.
- Choroidal thickness imaging using swept-source optical coherence tomography (OCT).
- Macular region segmentation into nine standard locations for analysis; multiple linear regression models used.
Main Results:
- Choroidal thickness varied significantly across macular locations, being thickest superiorly and thinnest nasally.
- Longer axial length and higher myopic spherical equivalent refraction were consistently associated with thinner ChT.
- Asian race showed association with thinner ChT in specific superior parafoveal and perifoveal regions.
Conclusions:
- Choroidal thickness exhibits systematic variation across the macula in myopic children.
- Axial length and refractive error are key determinants of choroidal thickness.
- Further longitudinal studies are needed to confirm ChT's predictive role in myopia progression and its utility in guiding myopia control treatments.
Significance:
This study addresses the lack of choroidal thickness (ChT) profile information available in European children and provides a baseline for further evaluation of longitudinal changes in ChT profiles in myopic children as a potential biomarker for myopia treatment and identifying children at risk of myopic progression.
Purpose:
This study aimed to investigate ChT profiles and associated factors in myopic children.
Methods:
Baseline data of 250 myopic children aged 6 to 16 years in the Myopia Outcome Study of Atropine in Children clinical trial were analyzed. Choroidal thickness images were obtained using swept-source optical coherence tomography (DRI-OCT Triton Plus; Topcon Corporation, Tokyo, Japan). The macula was divided into nine Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study locations with diameters of 1, 3, and 6 mm corresponding to the central fovea, parafoveal, and perifoveal regions. Multiple linear regression models were used to investigate determinants of ChT.
Results:
Choroidal thickness varied across the macular Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study locations ( P < .001): thickest in the perifoveal superior region (mean ± standard deviation, 249.0 ± 60.8 μm) and thinnest in the perifoveal nasal region (155.1 ± 50.3 μm). On average, ChT was greater in all parafoveal (231.8 ± 57.8 μm) compared with perifoveal (218.1 ± 49.1 μm) regions except superiorly where the ChT was greater in the perifoveal region. Longer axial length and higher myopic spherical equivalent refraction were consistently associated with thinner ChT at all locations in the multiple linear regression models. Asian race was significantly associated with thinner ChT only at parafoveal and perifoveal superior regions after Bonferroni correction ( P = .004 and P = .001, respectively).
Conclusions:
Choroidal thickness was thinnest in the nasal macular region and varied systematically across all macular locations, with axial length and spherical equivalent refraction being the strongest determinants of ChT. Longitudinal evidence will need to evaluate whether any differences in ChT profiles are predictive of myopic progression and to determine the role of ChT measurements in identifying myopic children most in need of myopia control treatment.
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