Age effect on retina and optic disc normal values.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate retinal thickness and optic disc parameters by the Retinal Thickness Analyzer (RTA) glaucoma program in older normal subjects and to determine any age effect.


METHODS
Subjects over 40 years of age without any prior history of eye diseases were recruited. Only subjects completely normal on clinical ophthalmologic examination and on visual field testing by Humphrey Field Analyzer (HFA) using the SITA 24-2 program were included. A total of 74 eyes from 74 subjects with even age distribution over the decades were enrolled and underwent topographic measurements of the posterior pole and of the optic disc by RTA. The 'glaucoma full' program in software version 4.11B was applied.


RESULTS
Mean patient age was 59.9 +/- 10.3 years with a range from 40 to 80 years. The only parameter intraocular pressure (IOP) correlated with was retinal posterior pole asymmetry (r = 0.27, p = 0.02). IOP itself increased significantly with age (r = 0.341, p = 0.003). Mean defect and pattern standard deviation of the HFA did not correlate with any of the retinal or optic disc measurements. Increasing age correlated significantly with some of the morphologic measurements of the RTA: decreasing perifoveal minimum thickness (r = -0.258, p = 0.026), increased cup-to-disc area ratio (r = 0.302, p = 0.016) and increased cup area (r = 0.338 p = 0.007).


CONCLUSIONS
An age effect exists for some of the retina and optic disc measurements obtained by the RTA.
Neubauer
Aljoscha S
AS
Department of Ophthalmology, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany. aljoscha.neubauer@med.uni-muenchen.de
Chryssafis
Christos
C
Thiel
Martin
M
Tsinopoulos
Ioannis
I
Hirneiss
Christoph
C
Kampik
Anselm
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001837:Body Weights and Measures; D003941:Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009898:Optic Disk / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012016:Reference Values; D012160:Retina / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D014794:Visual Fields