title: Relationship Between Peripapillary Choroid and Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness in a Population-Based Sample of Nonglaucomatous Eyes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the relationship between peripapillary choroidal thickness and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in a population-based sample of nonglaucomatous eyes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Population-based, cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 478 nonglaucomatous subjects aged over 40 years were recruited from the Singapore Malay Eye Study (SiMES-2). All participants underwent a detailed ophthalmic examination, including Cirrus and Spectralis optical coherence tomography (OCT) for the measurements of RNFL thickness and peripapillary choroidal thickness, respectively. Associations between peripapillary choroidal thickness and RNFL thickness were assessed using linear regression models with generalized estimating equations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 424 included subjects (843 nonglaucomatous eyes), 60.9% were women, and the mean (SD) age was 66.74 (10.44) years. The mean peripapillary choroidal thickness was 135.59 ± 56.74 μm and the mean RNFL thickness was 92.92 ± 11.41 μm. In terms of distribution profile, peripapillary choroid was thickest (150.04 ± 59.72 μm) at the superior and thinnest (110.71 ± 51.61 μm) at the inferior quadrant, whereas RNFL was thickest (118.60 ± 19.83 μm) at the inferior and thinnest (67.36 ± 11.36 μm) at the temporal quadrant. We found that thinner peripapillary choroidal thickness (PPCT) was independently associated with thinner RNFL thickness globally (regression coefficient [β] = -1.334 μm for per-SD decrease in PPCT, P = .003), and in the inferior (β = -2.565, P = .001) and superior (β = -2.340, P = .001) quadrants even after adjusting for potential confounders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thinner peripapillary choroid was independently associated with thinner RNFL globally and in the inferior and superior regions. This structure-structure relationship may need further exploration in glaucomatous eyes prior to its application in clinical settings.
authors.affiliation: Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore; Department of Ophthalmology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore.
authors.forename: Preeti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore; Department of Ophthalmology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore; Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore.
authors.forename: Carol Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.affiliation: Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore; Department of Ophthalmology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore; Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore.
authors.forename: Mani
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baskaran
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
authors.forename: Pina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marziliano
authors.affiliation: Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore; Department of Ophthalmology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore; Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore.
authors.forename: Ecosse L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Lamoureux
authors.affiliation: Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore; Department of Ophthalmology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore; Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore.
authors.forename: Chui Ming Gemmy
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.affiliation: Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore; Department of Ophthalmology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore; Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore.
authors.forename: Tin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aung
authors.affiliation: Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore; Department of Ophthalmology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore; Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore.
authors.forename: Tien Yin
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore; Department of Ophthalmology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore; Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore. Electronic address: chingyu.cheng@duke-nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Ching-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002829:Choroid / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000473:pathology; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009412:Nerve Fibers; D009898:Optic Disk / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D012016:Reference Values; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D012846:Singapore; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology