title: Choroidal thickness in healthy Japanese subjects.
abstract: Purpose. To study posterior choroidal thickness and its profile based on location in healthy Japanese subjects and the correlation with axial length, refractive error (RE), and age. Methods. Eighty-six eyes of 43 healthy volunteers with no ophthalmic or systemic symptoms were examined with prototype high-penetration optical coherence tomography using a 1060-nm light source. Eyes with high myopia (exceeding -6 D) or with retinal/choroidal disease were excluded. The spherical equivalent RE was measured by autorefractometry, and the axial length was measured by partial coherence inferometry. Results. Mean choroidal thicknesses were 354 +/- 111 mum at the fovea, 364 +/- 86 mum superiorly, 345 +/- 108 mum inferiorly, 227 +/- 532 mum nasally, and 337 +/- 102 mum temporally. Subfoveal choroidal thickness was significantly greater than nasal (P < 0.01) and temporal (P < 0.05) choroidal thickness; however, there was no significant difference compared with superior (P = 0.20) and inferior (P = 0.17) choroidal thickness. The temporal choroid was significantly (P < 0.01) thicker than the nasal choroid, and the inferior choroid was significantly (P < 0.01) thinner than the superior choroid. There was a significant negative correlation between foveal choroidal thickness and axial length (P < 0.05) but a borderline correlation with the RE (P = 0.086) and age (P = 0.07). Age was the factor that was most associated with the choroidal thickness (F = 20.86; P < 0.001), followed by RE (F = 5.37; P < 0.05); axial length was not a significant factor (F = 1.47; P = 0.22) by stepwise analysis. Conclusions. The profile of choroidal thickness depends on its location. RE, axial length, and especially age are critical for evaluation of choroidal thickness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Osaka University Medical School, Osaka, Japan. ikuno@ophthal.med.osaka-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ikuno
authors.forename: Kana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawaguchi
authors.forename: Takeyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nouchi
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yasuno
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D019412:Anatomy, Cross-Sectional; D044466:Asian People; D001837:Body Weights and Measures; D002829:Choroid / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007368:Interferometry; D007564:Japan; D008027:Light; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012030:Refractive Errors / Q000150:complications; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D055815:Young Adult