Retinal vascular density in different refractive errors assessed by optical coherence tomography angiography

Abstract

Purpose: To compare retinal vascular density (VD) in individuals with different refractive errors using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA) and evaluate the correlation between VD and ocular biometric parameters.

Methods: This study included 56 participants with moderate myopia and hyperopia, along with 33 controls with lower levels of refractive errors. The mean age of participants was 28.95 ± 6.92 years for the case group and 31.18 ± 6.81 years for the controls. Among the participants, 51.7 % were female. All subjects underwent OCTA imaging using the RTVue XR Avanti system to measure VD in the superficial and deep capillary plexuses. The foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area was also assessed.

Results: Myopic eyes exhibited a significantly higher deep capillary plexus (DCP) foveal VD compared to hyperopic eyes (P = 0.031). In hyperopic eyes, there was a significant positive correlation between anterior chamber depth (ACD) and superficial capillary plexus (SCP) VD (P < 0.001), while in myopic eyes, age was negatively correlated with SCP foveal VD (P = 0.009). Additionally, the FAZ area showed a negative correlation with ACD in both hyperopic and control eyes (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: Myopic eyes demonstrated higher DCP foveal VD compared to hyperopic eyes, suggesting distinct vascular characteristics among different refractive errors. OCTA provides valuable insights into microvasculature changes in eyes with refractive errors.

Keywords: Foveal avascular zone; Macular microvasculature; Optical coherence tomography angiography; Refractive errors; Vessel density.