Abstract
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging is a rapid, non-invasive imaging technology which produces 3 dimensional images of the macula (the part of the retina used for central, detailed vision). Abnormalities of macular thickness and morphology on OCT imaging are the hallmark of both diabetic retinopathy (commonest cause of vision loss in working aged individuals in the UK) and age-related macular degeneration (commonest cause of irreversible vision loss in the elderly). OCT imaging can also provide information about the thickness of the macular nerve fibre layer, which may be thinned in glaucoma (commonest cause of irreversible vision loss worldwide) and in neurodegenerative diseases. We analysed UK Biobank OCT images collected from over 60,000 people to derive variables describing macular thickness. After excluding poor quality images and images from people with known eye or other disease known to affect macular thickness we reported normal macular thickness (measured from the inner limiting membrane to the inner surface of the retinal pigment epithelium) values in 32,062 people. We found that the mean macular thickness in the central 1 mm of the macula was 264.5 microns. Central macular thickness was positively correlated with older age, short-sight (myopia), female sex, white ethnicity, smoking and body mass index. Of note in other macular areas outside the central 1 mm zone, macular thickness was correlated with older age and greater myopia. We therefore report normal values for macular thickness in the UK Biobank cohort. Our results show a complex relationship between macular thickness, age and myopia. This work contributes towards a better understanding of macular and retinal thickness and how different ocular and systemic factors influence macular thickness.
1 Application
Application ID |
2112 | Automated macular thickness measurements and association with potential risk factors and systemic disease |
1 Return
Return ID | App ID | Description | Archive Date |
1873 | 2112 | Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging in 67 321 Adults: Associations with Macular Thickness in the UK Biobank Study | 16 Jan 2020 |