title: Change in retinal image contrast with age in eyes with transparent lenses.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare and evaluate changes in the retinal image with age in Japanese adults with transparent crystalline lenses.
  
  
  METHODS
  Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study comprised right eyes with corrected distance visual acuity better than 0.0 logMAR. A point-spread function analyzer (PSF-1000) was used to measure retinal image contrast with 3.0 mm pupils under maximum mydriasis. A wavefront analyzer (KR9000PW) was used to measure higher-order aberrations (HOAs) with 4.0 mm pupils. The lens transparency property was estimated by the backward light-scattering intensity of each layer of the lens and the optical distance (mm) photographed by an anterior segment analysis system (EAS-1000). The Pearson product-moment correlation (R(2)) was used for statistical analysis; the significance level was 5%.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study comprised 269 patients (mean age 39.7 years ± 7.7 [SD]). The retinal image contrast degenerated significantly with age; the largest difference was seen with the 0.423 logMAR optotype, for which the decrease was 5.4% every decade. Backward light-scattering intensity (R(2) = 0.030, P<.01) and HOAs (R(2) = 0.032, P<.01) correlated negatively with retinal image contrast.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Retinal image contrast in eyes with transparent lenses degenerated with age. The decrease was most prominent at the middle frequency domain and was due to the increase in HOAs and light-scattering intensity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Kanazawa Medical University Hospital, Uchinada, Ishikawa, Japan. n-mita@kanazawa-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: Norihiro
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mita
authors.forename: Natsuko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hatsusaka
authors.forename: Eri
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shibuya
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Osada
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Shinsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Kazuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sasaki
mesh_terms: D057128:Aberrometry; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010781:Photography; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult