title: Macular pigment levels do not influence C-Quant retinal straylight estimates in young Caucasians.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Individuals with higher than normal levels of macular pigment optical density (MPOD) are less affected by disability glare, when using glare source lights with a strong short-wavelength component. The aim of this study was to investigate whether estimates of retinal straylight from the Oculus Cataract Quantifier (C-Quant), which corresponds to disability glare, are associated with estimates of macular pigment levels in young Caucasian eyes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-seven Caucasian individuals (aged 19 to 40 years) with good visual acuity, free from ocular disease and with clear ocular media participated. Macular pigment optical density was measured at 0.5 degrees eccentricity from the foveal centre using a heterochromatic flicker photometry-based densitometer instrument from MacularMetrics. Retinal straylight was estimated using the C-Quant, a commercially available device, which uses a psychophysical compensation comparison method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean MPOD was 0.39 ± 0.18 log units (range zero to 0.80) and was not significantly related to age (r = -0.07, p = 0.66). Mean straylight parameter (s) was 1.01 ± 0.09 log units (range 0.86 to 1.21) and was not significantly related to age (r = -0.03, p = 0.86). Although there was a small tendency for straylight measurements to be reduced in individuals with higher levels of MPOD, there was no statistically significant relationship between retinal straylight and MPOD (r = -0.17, p = 0.30).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ocular straylight, estimated by the Oculus C-Quant, is little influenced by macular pigment optical density. As the C-Quant uses balanced (white) lights, it is suggested that the previous findings on the effect of macular pigment critically depend on the use of blue-dominant glare sources.
authors: Vision Science Research Group, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. r.beirne@ulster.ac.uk.
authors: Raymond O
authors: RO
authors: Beirne
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D008297:Male; D012160:Retina / Q000528:radiation effects*; D012168:Retinal Pigments / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology*; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012168:Retinal Pigments
keywords: disability glare; macular pigment; retinal straylight; visual function