title: Age-related changes of defocus-specific contrast sensitivity in healthy subjects.
abstract: To investigate the effect of defocus on contrast sensitivity as a function of age in healthy subjects, the through focus contrast sensitivity was measured in 100 healthy subjects aged 20-69. Defocus-specific changes in contrast sensitivity reflect age-related changes in the optics of the eye. Tests were performed in cycloplegic eyes varying artificial pupil size (2, 4 and 6 mm), defocus (-1 to +2 D), and spatial frequency (1-16 cpd). Integrated contrast sensitivity was taken as a measure for the total amount of visual information transferred by the optical media. At optimal focus, integrated contrast sensitivity and log contrast sensitivity at 8 cpd showed a significant age-related decline. The log contrast sensitivity at 1 cpd appeared to be independent of age. The depth of focus for a 4-mm pupil increased significantly with age, even though contrast sensitivity at +2 D defocus decreases with age too, but not as much as the contrast sensitivity at optimal focus. Our study indicates that the effect of defocus on contrast sensitivity decreases with age; this was attributed to age-related changes in the optical media.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Ophthalmology, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Y K
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Nio
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Jansonius
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fidler
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Geraghty
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Norrby
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Kooijman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009184:Mydriatics / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011680:Pupil / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D009184:Mydriatics