Choroidal Thickness Changes According to the Refractive Errors and Axial Length in Korean Myopia Patients

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To investigate the choroidal thickness changes with the Enhanced Depth Imaging (EDI) technique according to refractive errors and axial length in Korean myopia patients. METHODS: A total of 90 eyes from 90 patients with myopia (between the ages of 19 and 39 years) underwent spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT)-EDI evaluations. Spherical equivalent was measured by cycloplegic refraction and axial length was obtained by IOL master(R). The subfoveal choroidal thickness was analyzed according to age, sex, axial length and spherical equivalent by linear correlations. RESULTS: The average age of all subjects was 25.44 years, mean spherical equivalent was -5.06 diopter (D), mean axial length was 25.70 mm, and mean choroidal thickness was 281.47 microm. In a multiple regression model, the patients' age had no statistical effect on subfoveal choroidal thickness. Subfoveal choroidal thickness decreased by 13.58 microm per -1D increase in refractive errors and by 33.99 microm per 1 mm increase in axial length when adjusted for sex and age. In addition, subfoveal choroidal thickness was 59.82 microm thicker in men than in women when adjusted for axial length and spherical equivalent (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Among young Korean myopia patients, subfoveal choroidal thickness was significantly related with refractive errors and axial length. Moreover, choroidal thickness was thicker in men than women when adjusted for refractive errors and axial length.