Title:Choroidal Thickness Measured by Ocular Coherence Tomography
(SD-OCT) and Body Mass Index in Healthy Saudi Women: A
Cross-sectional Controlled Study
Volume: 18
Author(s): Ferial Zeried, Ezinne Ngozika, Mana Al-Anazi, Khathutshelo Mashige and Uchechukwu Osuagwu*
Affiliation:
- Translational Health Research Institute (THRI),
School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW 2560, Australia
Keywords:
Obesity, body mass index, choroidal thickness, spectral domain ocular coherence tomography, imaging, clinical diagnosis.
Abstract:
Background: Obesity is one of the major public health problems globally, especially
among women. Obesity is associated with glaucoma, cataract, age-related macular degeneration
and diabetic retinopathy. Although it is clear that the anatomy and physiologic functions of the
choroid may be affected by obesity, data investigating the effect of obesity on the choroid is limited
and/or unavailable for the Saudi population.
Objective: To assess Choroidal Thickness (CT) changes in a sample of healthy Saudi Arabian women
with different Body Mass Index (BMI) using Spectral-domain Ocular Coherence Tomography
(SD-OCT).
Methods: A total of 140 healthy women aged 18-29 years (mean age ± standard deviation SD, 24.5
± 1.7 years) with different BMI, axial length (AL) ≤ 24 ± 1.0 mm, and spherical equivalent refraction
(SER) of ≤ ±2.0 dioptres were enrolled for the study. The participants were age and refractionmatched,
and grouped into underweight (BMI ≤ 18.0 kg/m2) (n = 30), normal (control group)
(18.5–24.9 kg/m2) (n = 43), overweight (25.0–29.9 kg/m2) (n=37), and obese study groups (≥ 30.0
kg/m2) (n = 30). SD-OCT imaging was performed on one eye of each participant. Comparisons
among groups for all locations and the associations between CT and other variables were examined.
Results: The mean CT at the subfoveal region (285 ± 31 μm, range: 203 μm to 399 μm) was significantly
greater, and it was the lowest in the nasal region (248 ± 26 μm, range 154 to 304) compared
with other locations, across all the groups (p < 0.05). Compared with the control, the subfoveal
choroid was thinner in the obese group (mean difference: 22.6 μm, 95% Confidence Interval; CI:
8.6 μm to 36.6 μm; p = 0.02) and across all locations (p < 0.05) but thicker at the temporal location
in the underweight group (12.4 μm, 95% CI: -23.7 μm to −1.04 μm; p = 0.01). No significant association
of subfoveal CT with any of the measured parameters, including age (p-values ranged from
0.10 to 0.90), was found.
Conclusion: BMI may have an influence on the CT of healthy individuals and could be a cofounder
in research studies on CT. It is, therefore, recommended that BMI should be evaluated in the
clinical diagnosis and management of conditions associated with choroid in healthy individuals.
