title: Macular Choroidal Thickness in Children: The Shandong Children Eye Study.
abstract: To examine the thickness of the macular choroid and its associations in school children aged 6 to 18 years.
  
  
  
  The school-based cross-sectional Shandong Children Eye Study included 6026 (94.7%) of 6364 eligible children fulfilling the inclusion criterion of an age from 4 to 18 years. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) was performed for a subgroup of 972 school children aged 6+ years. All participants underwent ocular examinations, including measurement of visual acuity, cycloplegic refractometry, biometry, and SD-OCT (enhanced depth imaging mode) for measurement of choroidal thickness.
  
  
  
  The study included 972 children (501 girls) with a mean age of 11.3 ± 3.3 years (range, 6-18 years) and mean axial length of 24.10 ± 1.56 mm (range, 16.57-28.82 mm). Mean choroidal thickness was thicker (P < 0.001) at 500 μm temporal to the foveola (290 ± 67 μm) than in the subfoveal region (283 ± 67 μm; range, 113-507 μm) and the region 500 μm superior to the fovea (283 ± 66 μm), where it was thicker (P < 0.001) than at 500 μm inferior of the foveola (281 ± 66 μm), and it was thinnest (P < 0.001) at 500 μm nasal of the foveola (268 ± 67 μm). In multivariate analysis, thicker SFCT was (overall correlation coefficient r: 0.51) associated with shorter axial length (P < 0.001; standardized correlation coefficient β: -0.48; B: -23.7; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -27.2 to -20.3), male sex (P = 0.006; β: -0.08; B: -10.7; 95% CI: -18.3 to -3.11), and younger age (P = 0.04; β: -0.07; B: -1.46; 95% CI: -2.85 to -0.07).
  
  
  
  As in adults, thicker SFCT in children and teenagers was markedly associated with shorter axial length, and to a lesser degree with male sex and older age. As in adults, increasing axial myopia in teenagers is associated with choroidal thinning and development of a leptochoroid.
authors.affiliation: The 1st Clinical School Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China 2Department of Ophthalmology, Linyi People's Hospital, Linyi, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Juan Mei
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Jian Feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: The 1st Clinical School Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China 3School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Jian Hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: The 1st Clinical School Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: The Second Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Tai Liang
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: The Second Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: The Second Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Yuan Yuan
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Eye Institute of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Wen Jun
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Eye Institute of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Da Dong
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Eye Institute of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Xing Rong
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Eye Institute of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Hong Sheng
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Medical Faculty Mannheim of the Ruprecht-Karls-University, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jost B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Jonas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000375:Aging; D058452:Axial Length, Eye / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D001699:Biometry / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D002829:Choroid / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005584:Fovea Centralis / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012572:School Health Services; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*