Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Mar 23;32(1):53-57.
doi: 10.1016/j.joco.2019.09.002. eCollection 2020 Jan-Mar.

Evaluation of Foveal Avascular Zone and Capillary Plexus in Smokers Using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

Emine Çiloğlu  1 , Fikret Unal  1 , Emine Alyamac Sukgen  1 , Yusuf Kocluk  1 , Nese Cetin Dogan  1
Affiliations

Evaluation of Foveal Avascular Zone and Capillary Plexus in Smokers Using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

Emine Çiloğlu et al. J Curr Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the macular microvasculature in smokers in comparison to healthy subjects using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

Methods: Fifty chronic, regular smokers and 50 healthy non-smokers, as a control group, were recruited for the study. Foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area (mm2) and vessel density (VD) (%) in the superficial (SCP) and deep capillary plexus (DCP) were evaluated.

Results: FAZ area was 0.424 ± 0.100 mm2 in the smoker group and 0.333 ± 0.093 mm2 in the non-smoking control group (P = 0.002). The deep foveal VD was 31.76 ± 6.33% in the smoker group and 53.09 ± 5.88% in the non-smoking control group (P = 0.006). Superficial foveal and parafoveal, deep parafoveal VD were not statistically different between the groups (P = 0.120), (P = 0.337), (P = 0.287), respectively.

Conclusion: In our study, there was an enlargement of FAZ and reduction of foveal VD at DCP in the eyes of smokers compared with non-smoking adults.

Keywords: Capillary plexus; Foveal avascular zone; Optical coherence tomography angiography; Smoking; Vessel density.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest. Registration number of the Ethics Committee: Adana City Training and Research Hospital Ethical Committee, number: 269-2018.

References

    1. Garhöfer G, Resch H, Sacu S, Weigert G, Schmidl D, Lasta M, et al. Effect of regular smoking on flicker induced retinal vasodilatation in healthy subjects. Microvasc Res. 2011;82:351–5. - PubMed
    1. Sizmaz S, Küçükerdönmez C, Pinarci EY, Karalezli A, Canan H, Yilmaz G. The effect of smoking on choroidal thickness measured by optical coherence tomography. Br J Ophthalmol. 2013;97:601–4. - PubMed
    1. van den Berkmortel FW, Smilde TJ, Wollersheim H, van Langen H, de Boo T, Thien T. Intima-media thickness of peripheral arteries in asymptomatic cigarette smokers. Atherosclerosis. 2000;150:397–401. - PubMed
    1. Wimpissinger B, Resch H, Berisha F, Weigert G, Polak K, Schmetterer L. Effects of isometric exercise on subfoveal choroidal blood flow in smokers and nonsmokers. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2003;44:4859–63. - PubMed
    1. Steigerwalt RD, Jr, Laurora G, Incandela L, Cesarone MR, Belcaro GV, De Sanctis MT. Ocular and orbital blood flow in cigarette smokers. Retina. 2000;20:394–7. - PubMed