Anterior lamina cribrosa surface depth, age, and visual field sensitivity in the Portland Progression Project.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the effect of age on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT)-detected lamina cribrosa depth while controlling for visual field (VF) status and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) in 221 high-risk ocular hypertension and glaucoma patients enrolled in the Portland Progression Project.


METHODS
In this cross-sectional study, each participant underwent 870-nm SDOCT to obtain high-resolution radial B-scans centered on the optic nerve head (ONH) and a standardized ophthalmologic examination, including automated perimetry, on the same day. For each ONH, an anterior lamina cribrosa surface depth (ALCSD) parameter was generated as the average perpendicular distance from each anterior lamina cribrosa surface point relative to Bruch's membrane opening (BMO) reference plane within all 24 delineated B-scans. The relative effects of age, age-corrected VF status (mean deviation [MD]), and RNFLT on ALCSD were analyzed.


RESULTS
The mean age ± SD of participants was 64 ± 11 years (range, 33-90 years). The relationship between ALCSD and MD was age-dependent. ALCSD = 407.68 - 67.13 × MD - 0.08 × Age + 0.89 × MD × Age (MD, P = 0.001; MD × Age, P = 0.004). The relationship between ALCSD and RNFLT may also be age-dependent but did not achieve significance (interaction term, P = 0.067). ALCSD increased with worse VF status in younger eyes but not in older eyes. In older eyes, the anterior lamina was shallower than in younger eyes for the same VF status and RNFLT.


CONCLUSIONS
These data are consistent with the concept that structure/structure and structure/function relationships change with age.
Devers Eye Institute, Optic Nerve Head Research Laboratory, Legacy Research Institute, Portland, Oregon.
Ruojin
R
Ren
Hongli
H
Yang
Stuart K
SK
Gardiner
Brad
B
Fortune
Christy
C
Hardin
Shaban
S
Demirel
Claude F
CF
Burgoyne
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009898:Optic Disk / Q000473:pathology*; D009901:Optic Nerve Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009922:Oregon; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods; D058609:Visual Field Tests; D014794:Visual Fields
age; glaucoma; laminar depth; retinal nerve fiber layer thickness; visual field sensitivity