Racial Differences in the Association of Anterior Lamina Cribrosa Surface Depth and Glaucoma Severity in the African Descent and Glaucoma Evaluation Study (ADAGES)

PURPOSE: To determine if variation in anterior lamina cribrosa surface depth (ALCSD) differs between glaucoma patients of African (AD) and European descent (ED). METHODS: A total of 178 eyes from 123 glaucoma patients in the African Descent and Glaucoma Evaluation Study (ADAGES) and Diagnostic Innovations in Glaucoma Study (DIGS) were included. ALCSD and choroidal thickness were measured using the San Diego Automated Layer Segmentation Algorithm (SALSA). ALCSD was defined by both Bruch's membrane opening (BMO)-based (ALCSD-BMO) and scleral-based (ALCSD-Scl) reference planes. Racial differences in ALCSD were evaluated using cross-sectional univariate and multivariable models. RESULTS: A deeper ALCSD-Scl was found in males (52.4 μm, P = 0.0401), AD individuals (78.6 μm, P = 0.0004), younger individuals (−3.1 μm/year, P < 0.0213), and eyes with larger discs (81.0 μm/mm(2), P = 0.024), increased visual field loss (mean defect, MD: −6.4 μm/dB [decibel], P = 0.0106), and higher intraocular pressure (IOP: 14.1 μm/mm Hg, P = 0.0256). Significant deepening of ALSCD was observed with increasing IOP and visual field severity only in the AD group. Race modified the relationship between ALCSD-Scl and age (P = 0.0145) with ALCSD-Scl in AD individuals becoming more shallow with increasing age (−3.1 μm/year, P = 0.0213), while there was no significant association in the ED group (2.1 μm/mm Hg, P < 0.2026). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that a deeper ALCSD, regardless of the ALCSD reference plane used, is associated with more severe glaucoma and higher IOP in the ADAGES cohort, particularly in individuals of AD. These results suggest that characterizing ALCSD morphology and its relationships to IOP, aging, and glaucoma progression may help explain racial differences in disease susceptibility.