Choroidal thickness in healthy children

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the choroidal thickness profiles of healthy children using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography.

Methods: Horizontal and vertical enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography crosshair scans through the fovea were obtained from 48 healthy children. Choroidal thickness was measured at the fovea, 1 mm and 3 mm nasal, temporal, superior, and inferior to the fovea, and comparisons of choroidal thickness at different measurement points were performed.

Results: The mean subfoveal choroidal thickness was 348.4 ± 82.5 μm and the thickness at 1 mm nasal, temporal, superior, and inferior to the fovea was 306.1 ± 86.3, 352.0 ± 84.8, 349.9 ± 83.8, and 343.8 ± 86.8 μm, respectively. The thickness at 3 mm nasal, temporal, superior, and inferior to the fovea was 190.1 ± 63.9, 339.2 ± 89.8, 330.7 ± 82.1, and 309.9 ± 78.4 μm, respectively. Subfoveal choroidal thickness was negatively correlated with age.

Conclusion: The data, obtained using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography, provide the choroidal thickness profile of healthy children. The characteristic choroidal thickness profile in children suggests a redistribution process of choroidal tissue with aging.