Effects of myopia on different areas and layers of the macula: a fourier-domain optical coherence tomography study of a chinese cohort

BACKGROUND: To explore the changes in thickness in different areas and layers of the macula under different refractive conditions. METHODS: Consecutive participants were enrolled in the study. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) images were obtained using a spectral-domain system. We studied the relationships of the full, inner and outer retinal thicknesses of the fovea, parafovea and perifovea relative to the spherical equivalent (SE) and axial length (AL). RESULTS: We included 107 eyes; the analysis revealed that the men had thicker foveas (man vs women: 236.70 ± 18.97 μm vs 247.25 ± 16.70 μm P = 0.002) and inner parafoveas (man vs women: 128.35 ± 8.80 μm vs 122.78 ± 6.75 μm P < 0.001) than the women had. Full foveal thickness was not correlated with AL or SE (all P > 0.05), whereas the full para- and perifoveal thicknesses had significant negative correlations with AL (r = –0.243 P = 0.006 and r = –0.446 P < 0.001, for para- and peri- respectively) and positive correlations with SE (r = 0.346 P < 0.001 and r = 0.464 P < 0.001, for para- and peri- respectively). Regarding the layers, the thickness of the inner layer of the fovea increased with the degree of myopia. The average inner and outer layer thicknesses of the para- and perifovea decreased with the degree of myopia (with the SE para, b = 0.307, peri b = 0.457; with the AL para, b = –0.266, peri b = –0.454),with the perifoveal thicknesses decreasing more rapidly. CONCLUSIONS: Macular thickness changes with the degree of myopia; however, the different areas and different layers change in different manners. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12886-015-0080-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.