ABSTRACT
Objective To observe the distribution of macular thickness and its relationship with axial length, gender, refraction status and race in six-year-old children. Methods 1543 six-year-old children from 34 schools in Sydney were randomly selected. The thickness of center macula(CM), inner macula(IM)and outer macula (OM)were measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT), the differences of macular thickness between different genders and races were comparatively analyzed. The axial length and refraction status of all children were measured by IOL Master and autorefractor RK-F1 respectively. Results The CM, IM and OM thickness of all those six-year-old children were normally distributed,on average they were 193.6, 264.3 and 236.9 μm respectively, the differences were statistically significant (t = 0.40,0. 08,0.20;P＜0. 05). The CM,IM and OM average thickness was 194.2,264.9,229.0 μm for boys and 189.3,262.5,231.5 μm for girls respectively. CM and IM thickness of boys were thicker than those in girls(t=0. 15,0. 11;P＜0. 05). The CM, IM and OM average thickness was 196.0,265.2,237.5 μm for White kids,186.0,262.3,236.5 μm for East Asia kids and 193.4,263.7,233.8 μm for Central East kids respectively.The CM and IM thickness of White and Central East children were significantly thicker than East Asia children (t=0. 12,0.15; P＜0.05). There was no difference between these three races in OM thickness(t=0. 16,P=0.6). The IM and OM were thinner with longer axial length (P＜0. 05). The CM,IM and OM thickness was thicker with higher hyperopic degrees (P ＜0. 05). Conclusions Macular thickness was normally distributed in six-year-old children and was significantly affected by gender, race, axial length and refraction status.