Age-dependent Changes in the Macular Choriocapillaris of Normal Eyes Imaged With Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

Abstract

Purpose: Swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) was used to measure the age-dependent changes in macular choriocapillaris (CC) flow deficits (FDs) in normal eyes.

Design: A prospective, cross-sectional study.

Methods: Subjects with normal eyes ranging in age from their 20s to their 80s were imaged using a 100-kHz SS-OCTA instrument (PLEX Elite 9000, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, California, USA). Both 3 × 3-mm and 6 × 6-mm scans were used to image the macular CC. Visualization of the CC and quantification of FDs were performed using a previously validated algorithm. The percentage of FDs (FD%) in the central 1-mm circle (C₁), 1.5-mm rim (R_1.5), and 2.5-mm circle (C_2.5) from the 3 × 3-mm and 6 × 6-mm scans and FD% in the 2.5-mm rim (R_2.5) and 5-mm circle (C₅) from the 6 × 6-mm scans were measured and correlated with age and axial length.

Results: A total of 164 subjects were enrolled, with at least 10 subjects from each decade of life. No meaningful correlations were found between FD% and axial length (|r| < 0.30). FD% in all fields increased with increasing age (all r > 0.50; all P < .001); however, the greatest increases were found in the central macula C₁ regions and the smallest increases in the peripheral macula R_2.5 regions.

Conclusions: In normal aging, the FD% increased with age across the central 5 mm of the macula, but the greatest increase was found in the central 1-mm region of the macula.