Effects of age and binarising area on choroidal vascularity index in healthy eyes: an optical coherence tomography study

• Published in: International ophthalmology 2021-03, Vol.41 (3), p.825-834
• Main Authors: Koçak, Nurullah, Subaşı, Mustafa, Yeter, Volkan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Age factors; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Ophthalmology; Optical Coherence Tomography; Original Paper; Tomography
• ISSN: 0165-5701; 1573-2630
• DOI: 10.1007/s10792-020-01636-6

Purpose  To investigate the changes in the choroidal vascularity index (CVI) with age and to compare the effect of the binarised area on CVI in healthy eyes using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Materials and methods  Two hundred and twenty-four eyes of 224 healthy subjects were included in this prospective cross-sectional study. The eyes were divided into different age groups to analyse the possible age-related choroidal structural changes. Subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), CVI, total choroidal area (TCA), stromal area (SA), luminal area (LA), and CVI within the central 1500 µm of the macula were analysed using enhanced depth imaging SD-OCT. The CVI was defined as the proportion of the LA to the TCA, and its values for the two binarised areas were compared (CVI total vs. CVI 1500 ). Results  The mean age was 34.77 ± 20.97 (range: 5–70) years. The mean CVI total was statistically lower (66.71 ± 2.58%) than the mean CVI 1500 (67.54 ± 3.13%, p  = 0.008) among all the healthy participants. TCA, LA, CVI total , and CVI 1500 were statistically higher in the ≤ 18-year-old group compared to the > 18-year-old group ( p