Korean J Ophthalmol.  2011 Aug;25(4):248-251. 10.3341/kjo.2011.25.4.248.

Attenuated Age-Related Thinning of Peripapillary Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer in Long Eyes

Affiliations
  • 1Institute of Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. gjseong@yuhs.ac

Abstract

PURPOSE
To assess the impact of axial length on the age-related peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thinning.
METHODS
This cross-sectional observational comparative case series included 172 eyes from 172 healthy Korean subjects. Peripapillary RNFL thickness was measured using an Optic Disc Cube 200 x 200 scan of spectral domain Cirrus HD OCT and the axial length was measured using IOL Master Advanced Technology. In age groups based on decade, the normal ranges of peripapillary RNFL thickness for average, quadrant, and clock-hour sectors were determined with 95% confidence intervals. After dividing the eyes into two groups according to axial length (cut-off, 24.50 mm), the degrees of age-related RNFL thinning were compared.
RESULTS
Among the eyes included in the study, 53 (30.81%) were considered to be long eyes (axial length, 25.04 +/- 0.48 microm) and 119 (69.19%) were short-to-normal length eyes (axial length, 23.57 +/- 0.60 microm). The decrease in average RNFL thickness with age was less in long eyes (negative slope, -0.12 microm/yr) than in short-to-normal length eyes (negative slope, -0.32 microm/yr) (p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
Age-related thinning of peripapillary RNFL thickness is attenuated in long eyes compared to short-to-normal length eyes.

Keyword

Axial length; Glaucoma; Optical coherence tomography; Retinal ganglion cell

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Cross-Sectional Studies
Eye/*anatomy & histology
Female
Humans
Macular Degeneration/*epidemiology/pathology
Male
Middle Aged
Nerve Fibers/*pathology
Optic Disk/*pathology
Prevalence
Republic of Korea/epidemiology
Retinal Ganglion Cells/*pathology
Severity of Illness Index
*Tomography, Optical Coherence

Figure

  • Fig. 1 Relationship between age and average peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in long (A) and short-to-normal length (B) eyes.


Cited by  1 articles

Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer and Macular Retinal Ganglion Cell Layer Thicknesses in Healthy Korean Children
Yeji Kim, Young Hoon Hwang
J Korean Ophthalmol Soc. 2019;60(9):874-880.    doi: 10.3341/jkos.2019.60.9.874.


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