Assessment of the effect of age on macular layer thickness in a healthy Chinese cohort using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography

Qian Xu, Ying Li, Ying Cheng, Yi Qu

To determine the effect of age on the thickness of individual retinal and choroidal vascular layers in the macula in an ophthalmologically healthy Chinese cohort by using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). In all, 525 health eyes of 525 subjects were examined with SD-OCT. The instrument automatically obtained the regional retinal thickness of 8 layers. Subfoveal choroidal vascular layers' thickness was measured using enhanced depth imaging mode. The correlation of age with layer thickness measurements was determined. No age-associated variation was found on retinal thickness (RT) in the fovea; however, the foveal thickness of outer nuclear layer (ONL), retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and vascular sublayers of the choroid decreased significantly with aging in this area (P < 0.05, respectively). Significant age-related reduction was seen in RT in the pericentral and peripheral rings (P < 0.05, respectively). The significant variation in thinning of the ganglion cell layer, inner plexiform layer, and ONL with aging is thought to be the main determinant of these results (P < 0.05, respectively). On the contrary, the RPE layout showed age-related thickening (P < 0.05, respectively) in the pericentral and peripheral regions. The thickness of individual layers of the macula may be determinants of the age-related variations observed in the ophthalmologically healthy Chinese cohort, as assessed by SD-OCT examination.