title: Effect of vitreomacular separation on macular thickness determined by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the effects of vitreomacular separation on macular thickness.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective, observational, cross-sectional study. Average foveal and central minimum thicknesses were measured by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in 308 eyes of 308 healthy subjects (healthy group) and 298 normal fellow eyes of 298 patients with a unilateral macular hole (MH group). Multiple regression analyses were performed to determine the effects of various factors on the macular thickness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the healthy group was 67.3 ± 9.6 years (range 40-88 years) and that of the MH group was 67.8 ± 7.0 years (range 43-91). SD-OCT images showed that 149 eyes (48.4 %) in the healthy group and 174 eyes (58.4 %) in the MH group had a vitreomacular separation. In the healthy group, the central minimum thickness of eyes with a vitreomacular separation (196 µm) was significantly thinner than those without a vitreomacular separation (205 µm; P < 0.001). In the MH group, the average foveal thickness (234 µm) and the central minimum thickness (177 µm) in eyes with a vitreomacular separation were thinner than those without it (247 and 199 µm, respectively; both P < 0.001). Multiple regression analyses showed that a vitreomacular separation was significantly correlated with thinner central minimum thicknesses in both groups (P < 0.001) and also with the average foveal thickness in the MH group (P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A vitreomacular separation caused thinning of the central fovea in both the healthy eyes and the normal fellow eyes of unilateral MH patients; the extent of foveal thinning is greater in the MH group.
authors.affiliation: Shinjo Ophthalmologic Institute, 889-1 Mego, Shimokitakata-Machi, Miyazaki, 8800035, Japan. ganka@kamiiida-hp.jp.
authors.forename: Kazuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kumagai
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Kagoshima City Hospital, Kagoshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Akinori
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Uemura
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Iruma, Japan.
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hangai
authors.affiliation: Kami-iida Daiichi General Hospital, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suetsugu
authors.affiliation: Shinjo Ophthalmologic Institute, 889-1 Mego, Shimokitakata-Machi, Miyazaki, 8800035, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuchika
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ogino
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008266:Macula Lutea / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012160:Retina / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods*; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014822:Vitreous Body / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*
keywords: Macular hole; Macular thickness; Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography; Vitreomacular separation; Vitreomacular traction