Journal List > J Korean Ophthalmol Soc > v.54(8) > 1009457

Paik, Lee, and Kim: Age-Related Changes in the Thickness of the Lamina Cribrosa Measured by Spectral Domain OCT

Abstract

Purpose

To measure the lamina cribrosa thickness (LCT) in vivo of healthy people and to determine any association be-tween the LCT and age or sex.

Methods

We evaluated 100 eyes of 100 healthy volunteers. Forty eyes were selected and divided into 2 specific age groups (38-49 and 78-89 years) and the differences were assessed with respect to age and sex. Each participant under-went a complete eye examination and the LCT was evaluated with spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) using enhanced depth imaging (EDI) mode.

Results

Eighty-seven eyes were considered for the measurement and analysis of the LCT and 13 eyes were excluded be-cause of an unclear image for identifying the LCT. The mean age was 55.0 ± 19.5 years. The mean LCT in healthy volun-teers was 231.3 ± 41.6 μ m (range, 152.5 - 327.5 μ m) and a negative relationship was found between LCT and age (LCT = -1.614 × age + 320.191 μ m, 95% CI for slope -1.91 to -1.32, r2 = 0.572, p < 0.001). Regarding differences related to sex, males had relatively thicker LCT than females, irrespective of age, although not statistically significant (p = 0.623).

Conclusions

The present study results showed a decrease in human LCT with increasing age. Therefore, a decreasing LCT with an increasing age could be considered a strong risk factor for the development of glaucoma. In addition, measuring the LCT may help to understand the disease prognosis.

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Figure 1.
Change in lamina cribrosa thickness (LCT, μ m) with age. Regression line : LCT = -1.614 × age + 320.191 μ m, 95% CI for slope -1.91 to -1.32, r2=0.572, p < 0.001. AvgLCT = average lamina cribrosa thickness.
jkos-54-1261f1.tif
Figure 2.
Differences with respect to sex and age in lamina cri-brosa thickness (LCT, μ m) in each group. Group 1: 38-49 years,10 men and 10 women, mean 240.40 (SD 24.30) μ m; Group 2:78-87 years, 10 men and 10 women, mean 191.65 (SD 25.31) μ m; unpaired t-test, p < 0.01.
jkos-54-1261f2.tif
Table 1.
Characteristics of the overall subjects
Mean (n = 87) Standard deviation Range
Age (years) 55.0 19.5 18~87
Best-corrected visual acuity 0.89 0.16 0.5~1.0
Anterior chamber depth (mm) 4.73 0.53 4~6
Lamina cribrosa thickness (μ m) 231.3 41.6 152.5~327.5
Cup-to-disc ratio 0.45 0.07 0.3~0.5
Intraocular pressure (mm Hg) 14.9 3.27 8~21
Refractive error (spherical equivalent) -1.05 2.18 -5.5~3.0
Axial length (mm) 23.31 0.75 21.69~25.08
Table 2.
Reproducibility of the lamina cribrosa thickness measurements
Mean (n = 87) Standard deviation ICC
Intraobserver
Observer 1 231.41 41.976 0.992 (0.987-0.994)
Observer 2 231.28 41.408

ICC = intraclass correlation coefficient.

Table 3.
Multiple comparison results
(I*) Group (years) (J) Group (years) Mean difference (I-J) (μ m) Standard error (μ m) p-value
10-29 30-49 45.84677 10.85231 0.000
50-69 69.25000 11.46522 0.000
70-89 95.19000 11.16542 0.000
30-49 10-29 -45.84677 10.85231 0.000
50-69 23.40323 8.43378 0.034
70-89 49.34323 8.02147 0.000
50-69 10-29 -69.25000 11.46522 0.000
30-49 -23.40323 8.43378 0.034
70-89 25.94000 8.83304 0.022
70-89 10-29 -95.19000 11.16542 0.000
30-49 -49.34323 8.02147 0.000
50-69 -25.94000 8.83304 0.022

* Age subgroups;

Comparing age subgroups.

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