Macular choroidal thickness in Chinese preschool children: decrease with axial length but no evident change with age

• Main Authors: Xian-Gui He, Jun-Jie Deng, Yao Yin, Bo Zhang, Shu-Yu Xiong, Jian-Feng Zhu, Hai-Dong Zou, Xun Xu, Ling Wang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Press of International Journal of Ophthalmology (IJO PRESS) 2019-09-01
• Series: International Journal of Ophthalmology
• Subjects: preschool children; choroidal thickness; refractive error; optical coherence tomography
• Online Access: http://www.ijo.cn/en_publish/2019/9/20190915.pdf
• ISSN: 2222-3959; 2227-4898

AIM: To explore the distribution pattern of macular choroidal thickness (ChT) and its association with age as well as refractive status in Chinese preschoolers. METHODS: School-based, cross-sectional study. A total of 550 healthy preschool children aged 3 to 6 years old from 6 kindergartens were enrolled. Comprehensive ocular examinations, including measurement of visual acuity, axial length, intraocular pressure and slit-lamp examination before cycloplegia, as well as refraction measurement and swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) examination after cycloplegia, were performed. The macular ChT in each sector of the ETDRS grid was measured by the built-in software of SS-OCT. RESULTS: The mean central ChT of the participants was 312±59 μm. The mean axial length and spherical equivalent refraction were 22.36±0.72 mm and 1.51±0.83 D, respectively. Axial length increased with age (P<0.001), while the spherical equivalent refraction was similar among different age groups. Similarly, no significant difference was observed in ChT in all sectors among different age groups (all P>0.05). The central ChT of 3-4, 5 and 6 years old children was 314±59 μm, 312±60 μm and 312±59 μm, respectively (P=0.920). No difference was observed in ChT in most of the sectors between genders. No statistical significant difference was observed among different refractive groups (all P>0.05), though the ChT of each sector seemed to be smaller in myopic children. Axial length and weight were the independent factors of central ChT. Children with longer axial length (β=-21.184, P<0.001) and smaller weight (β=1.502, P=0.041) tended to have thinner choroid. CONCLUSION: In preschool children, the ChT remains relatively stable with age, while a negative association between ChT and axial length existed. This will be helpful to elucidate the characteristics of ChT during the early refractive development.