Peripapillary vessel density correlates with visual field mean sensitivity in highly myopic eyes

PURPOSE: To identify the global and regional distribution of peripapillary vessel density (pVD) and try to find out the relationships between pVD and the visual field mean sensitivity (VFMS) in healthy myopic eyes. DESIGN: Prospective cross-sectional study. METHODS: Two hundred and twenty-two participants (393 eyes) with myopia (myopic refractive error < − 0.5 diopters) from two clinical centers were recruited in this study and were divided into 4 groups according to the spherical equivalent (SE): Group1:− 0.5D ≥ SE > − 6.00D, Group2: − 6.00D ≥ SE > − 8.00D, Group3:− 8.00D ≥ SE > − 10.00D, Group4:SE ≤ -10.00D.The pVD assessed with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) was quantified in 8 sectors. Peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (pRNFL) imaging was performed with SD-OCT. Visual field (VF) tests were performed with the 30-2 SITA standard program on the Humphrey 750i Visual Field Analyzer and were grouped into 8 regions that matched the structure. RESULTS: The pRNFL had no significant difference in all groups (p = 0.422). The average pVD were significantly lower in group 4 (47.61 ± 6.58) than in group 2 and 3 (51.49 ± 3.21, 50.48 ± 3.43 respectively) (p < 0.05). While both pVD in group2 and 3 were statistically lower than group1 (52.77 ± 2.86). The average VFMS was significantly lower in group 4 (901.85 ± 386.54) than other three groups (1169.15 ± 328.94, 1081.77 ± 338.83, 1076.89 ± 358.18, for group1,2,3 respectively). The pVD and VFMS were positively correlated in group3 (r = 0.184) and group4 (r = 0.476) (p < 0.05). Linear regression analysis demonstrated that VFMS were positively associated with pVD especially in temporal and nasal quadrants in myopic eyes. CONCLUSIONS: The pVD shows a significant positive correlation with VFMS in highly myopic eyes with SE ≤ − 8.00D. We suggest that pVD measurement by OCTA could be a sensitive and useful method for monitoring myopic functional change.