Macular Thickness Decreases with Age in Normal Eyes: A Study On Macular Thickness Map Protocol on the Oct

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the normal macular thickness and how it varies with age in the eyes of healthy subjects using macular map protocol on Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT).

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: Armed Forces Institute of Ophthalmology, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Jun 2020 to Sep 2021.

Methodology: Our study included one thousand seven hundred and four eyes (1704) of healthy subjects. They underwent imaging with macular thickness map protocol using Topcon Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT). According to the macular thickness map, protocol macular area was subdivided into nine ETDRS fields. Measurement of macular thickness and its variations with age were determined. Pearson correlation was applied to identify the relationship between age and macular thickness of layers.

Results: Our study revealed a negative relationship which was statistically significant between macular thickness and age for all the ETDRS regions. Results showed a mean macular thickness of 274.90 ± 15.18. The female gender was found to have greater macular thickness than males (p-value 0.002).

Conclusion: This study concluded a significant decrease in macular thickness with age. This is the first normative study using Topcon SD-OCT and macular map protocol for macular thickness measurement done in the Pakistani population.