Effects of age and gender on macular thickness in healthy subjects using spectral optical coherence tomography/scanning laser ophthalmoscopy

PurposeTo examine healthy subjects for normal macular thickness values and determine the effects of gender and age in a Turkish population, using spectral optical coherence tomography/scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (OCT/SLO).Material and methodSix hundred fourteen eyes of 307 subjects with no history of ocular diseases and normal ophthalmic examination were recruited in this cross-sectional, prospective study. The participants were divided into three groups based on age (between 20 and 29 years: group 1, between 30 and 39 years: group 2, between 40 and 49 years: group 3). All subjects were scanned with spectral OCT/SLO, performed by one examiner to acquire the retinal thickness map in the ETDRS grid, and values were recorded for nine sectors, and effects of age and gender were evaluated.ResultsWhen all the subjects were evaluated, the thicknesses were lower in women than men in all sectors (p < 0.001). When divided in groups based on age, this difference remained only in the outer segments. However, the differences in outer layers, except outer nasal layer, were thicker in women in group 3 when compared to others in group 3. When compared between groups, only central thickness in group 3 was shown to be higher than group 1 (p = 0.06). There was no significant difference of thicknesses in any sector when compared right and left eyes of all subjects.ConclusionsThe study reports the variation in retinal thickness between age and gender in a relatively large sample of a Turkish population. It is important to consider these effects while interpreting the OCT images to make an appropriate diagnosis in retinal diseases.