Macular choroidal thickness in highly myopic women during pregnancy and postpartum: a longitudinal study

• Published in: BMC pregnancy and childbirth 2018-06, Vol.18 (1), p.220-220, Article 220
• Main Authors: Chen, Wei, Li, Li, Zhang, Hongyuan, Li, Yan, Chen, Xu, Zhang, Yue
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Choroid - diagnostic imaging; Choroid - pathology; Enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography; Female; Highly myopic pregnancy; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Macular CT; Macular degeneration; Medical imaging; Myopia - diagnostic imaging; Myopia - pathology; Obstetrics; Organ Size; Postpartum; Postpartum Period; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications - diagnostic imaging; Pregnancy Complications - pathology; Pregnancy Trimesters; Prospective Studies; Time Factors; Tomography, Optical Coherence; Visual impairment; Womens health
• ISSN: 1471-2393; 1471-2393
• DOI: 10.1186/s12884-018-1865-3

High myopia, a cause of serious visual impairment, is a significant global public health concern. We investigate longitudinal changes in macular choroidal thickness (CT) during pregnancy and 6-months postpartum in women with high myopia (HM). A prospective longitudinal study was conducted in HM-pregnant women during the course of pregnancy (n = 42 eyes, 42 patients) and 6 months postpartum (n = 40 eyes, 40 patients, two cases lost).Macular CT was measured via enhanced-depth imaging (EDI)-optical coherence tomography (OCT) (EDI-OCT). Intraocular pressure (IOP), axial length (AL), refractive error, mean arterial pressure (MAP), mean ocular perfusion pressure (MOPP), and body mass index (BMI) were also measured. Macular CTs of HM pregnant women (214.3 ± 52.3 μm) had increased significantly during the third trimester of pregnancy compared with postpartum women (192.7 ± 51.9 μm, p = 0.014). No significant differences in AL, refractive error, or MAP were found between pregnant and postpartum groups (p > 0.05 for all parameters).During pregnancy, macular CT was negatively correlated with AL (first trimester: p = 0.010; second trimester: p = 0.013; and third trimester: p = 0.008) and positively correlated with refractive error (first trimester: p = 0.038; second trimester: p = 0.024; and third trimester: p = 0.010). No correlations between macular CT and age, IOP, MOPP, MAP, or BMI were found. Our study revealed the presence of a significantly thicker choroid during the third trimester of pregnancy compared with 6-mo postpartum in HM women. Macular CT positively correlated with refractive error and negatively correlated with AL during pregnancy, but did not correlate with gestational age, MOPP, IOP, MAP, or BMI.