Journal of Current Ophthalmology (Aug 2024)

Choroidal Features of Healthy Iranian Individuals

  • Ali Banafsheafshan,
  • Haniyeh Zeidabadinejad,
  • Masoud Mirghorbani,
  • Hooshang Faghihi,
  • Elias Khalili Pour,
  • Hamid Riazi-Esfahani

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/joco.joco_116_23
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 35, no. 4
pp. 369 – 374

Abstract

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Purpose: To assess subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) and choroidal vascularity index (CVI) profile in the Iranian healthy population and assessment of the inter-eye difference in this regard. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 141 healthy subjects underwent an assessment of refraction and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), axial length (AL), and measurement of the intraocular pressure. The imaging of the choroid was performed using the enhanced-depth imaging mode of Spectralis optical coherence tomography from the foveal slab to measure SFCT and calculate CVI. Results: A total of 282 eyes of 141 healthy subjects (59.6% men, mean age of 60.86 ± 11.46 years) enrolled in the current study. The mean SFCT of the right and left eye was 247.40 ± 70.37 and 251.25 ± 72.19, respectively. The mean CVI of the right and left eye was 62.63 ± 3.77 and 63.19 ± 3.91, respectively. None of the measured parameters had statistically significant differences between the left and right eyes. In both univariate and multivariate regression analysis, CVI was significantly associated with BCVA (P < 0.001) but was not associated with age, spherical equivalent (SE), gender, central macular thickness (CMT), and SFCT. In univariate regression analysis, SFCT was significantly associated with age, refraction (P = 0.02), BCVA (P = 0.003), AL (P < 0.001), and CVI (P = 0.02) but not significantly associated with gender and CMT. In multivariate analysis, age (P < 0.001), gender (P = 0.001), and AL (P < 0.001) were significantly associated with SFCT, but SE, BCVA, CVI, and CMT were not significantly associated. Conclusions: This was the first investigation to assess the SFCT and CVI simultaneously in the Iranian population to establish a normative database for future studies. CVI was less variable than SFCT in a healthy population, and no statistically significant differences existed between the left and right eyes.

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