The Whole Macular Choroidal Thickness in Subjects with Primary Open Angle Glaucoma

PURPOSE We investigated the whole macular choroidal thickness in subjects with glaucoma in order to evaluate the effects of glaucoma and glaucoma visual field damage on the choroidal thickness. SUBJECTS AND METHODS We examined 40 primary open angle glaucoma patients with only superior visual field defects and 48 normal controls. The macular choroidal thickness was measured using swept-source optical coherence tomography according to the three-dimensional raster scan protocol (6×6 mm). We used the choroidal thickness within a 1.0-mm circle measured on ETDRS grids as the central sector and then used a 6×6 rectangular grid to divide the area into six sectors. RESULTS No significant differences were found in the choroidal thickness values between the glaucoma and normal subjects in any of the sectors after adjusting for the age and axial length (all P>0.4, ANCOVA). According to a stepwise analysis of the glaucoma subjects performed using the parameters of age, axial length, central corneal thickness and mean deviation (MD value) obtained by static perimetry, age was the most predictive and significant factor in all sectors (coefficient = -3.091 to -4.091 and F value= 15.629 to 22.245), followed by axial length (coefficient= -10.428 to -23.458 and F value= 2.454 to 6.369). The central corneal thickness and MD values were not significant predictive factors in any of the sectors. No significant predictive factors were found for the differences in the choroidal thickness values observed between the superior and inferior field sectors. CONCLUSIONS Neither the glaucoma-related visual field damage nor glaucoma itself have any apparent associations with the whole macular choroidal thickness. TRIAL REGISTRATION Japan Clinical Trials Register (http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/ number, UMIN 000012527).