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Updated: Jul 10, 2025
Evaluation of Capillary and Other Vessel Contribution to Macular Perfusion Density Measured with Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography
Published on: February 18, 2022
Quantitative evaluation of choroidal and retinal microvasculature post-alcohol consumption: A pilot study
Xuenan Zhuang1, Guiqin He2, Yunkao Zeng3
1State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Ocular Diseases, Guangzhou 510060, China; Guangdong Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Purpose:
The aim of this study was to assess the impact of acute, heavy alcohol consumption on the ocular microvasculature, providing insight into the largely unexplored response of microvascular structures to excessive drinking.
Methods:
Healthy volunteers in this prospective pilot study were tasked with consuming spirits, wine, and water at different times. Alcohol intake was measured according to body weight (g/kg). The ocular microvascular parameters primarily including choroidal volume (CV) and choroidal vessel volume (CVV) reflecting arteriolovenularity, and choroidal capillary density (CCD) reflecting capillary, were evaluated using swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography at baseline and 0.5-, 1-, 2-, and 3-hour post-consumption.
Results:
A total of 34 eyes underwent 170 successful examinations in this study. After consuming spirits or wine, we observed significant decreases in CV and CVV values (all P < 0.01 for 0.5-, 1-, 2-, and 3-hour post-consumption), along with significant increase in CCD (P < 0.05 at 0.5-, 1-, 2-hour post-spirits consumption and 1-hour post-wine consumption). The most pronounced changes occurred 1-hour after spirits or wine consumption (all P < 0.001 in both univariate and multivariate model). However, post-consumption changes in the ocular microvasculature showed no significant differences between spirits and wine (P > 0.05). Additionally, no significant differences were observed in any parameters after water intake (all P > 0.05).
Conclusions:
Excessive alcohol consumption leads to ocular arteriolovenular vasoconstriction and capillary vasodilation, most evident 1-hour post-consumption of spirits and wine. Our research provides insight into alcohol's immediate ocular microvascular effects, hinting at systemic microvascular effects.
