Age, gender, IOP, refraction and optic disc topography in normal eyes. A cross‐sectional study using raster and scanning laser tomography

Abstract

ABSTRACT.Purpose: To study the influence of age, gender, intraocular pressure and refraction on optic disc topography in normal subjects. Methods: We studied both eyes of 225 healthy subjects between 20 and 80 years of age using raster tomography (Glaucoma-Scope TM , Ophthalmic Imaging Systems, Sacramento CA, USA) and scanning laser tomography (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany). We chose to study cup area and maximum cup depth, two variables that are minimally influenced by the operator. Results: Raster and scanning laser tomography results were strongly correlated. Cup area was independent of age, gender and refraction. It was weakly associated with IOP, but this association was significant only when the cup area was measured with scanning laser tomography. Maximum cup depth was independent of age, gender and IOP. It was larger in hypermetropic eyes, although this trend was significant only when maximum cup depth was measured with raster tomography. Conclusion: Our results indicate that optic nerve head topography does not change significantly with age in normal subjects. This information has important implications for follow-up of pathological changes in optic nerve head topography.Key words: normal eyes -age -optic nerve head topography -raster tomography -scanning laser tomography.Acta Ophthalmol. Scand. 1998: 76: 170-175 Copyright c Acta Ophthalmol Scand 1998. ISSN 1395-3907 D etection of progressive changes in optic nerve head topography is important for glaucoma follow-up and management. Modern methods for threedimensional imaging of the optic nerve head have the potential to detect progressive changes, whether they are caused by glaucoma or not.Over the past decades several clinical and histopathological studies have reported progressive changes in optic nerve head topography with age and IOP in normal subjects (Pickard 1948;Bengtsson 1976Bengtsson , 1980Balazsi et al. 1984;Repka et al. 1989;Jonas et al. 1992). The results of more recent studies have been less consistent (Britton et al. 1987;Jonas et al. 1988;Funk et al. 1989;Tsai et al. 1992;. Further studies employing modern methods are therefore needed to establish or rule out disturbing effects of normal aging.Although progressive changes are best studied longitudinally, valuable information may be obtained in cross-sectional studies. We used both raster tomography (GS) (Glaucoma-Scope TM , Ophthalmic Imaging Systems, Sacramento CA, USA) (Hoskins et al. 1993) and confocal scanning laser tomography (HRT) (Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph, Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany) (Burk et al. 1990(Burk et al. , 1993 for objective three-dimensional analysis of optic nerve head topography in a large, representative group of normal subjects covering a wide range of ages. We chose to study cup area and maximum cup depth, two variables that are minimally influenced by the operator and well suited to answer the fundamental questions about age-related changes in optic nerve head topography. Material and Methods Selection of Subjects:We planned t...

The influence of age, gender, refractive error, and optic disc size on the optic disc configuration in Japanese normal eyes

“…The lack of influence on optic disc configuration by gender and refractive error observed in the current study is consistent with previous reports (Dielemans et al 1994;Gundersen et al 1998;Varma et al 1994). The significant correlation of disc diameter and disc size with the neuroretinal rim area or C/D ratio in the current study is also consistent with a previous report.…”

“…In past studies, however, the influence of age on optic disc configuration has not been consistent. Several papers have reported no correlation between age and the optic disc (Britton et al 1987;Carpel & Engstrom 1981;Funk et al 1989;Gundersen et al 1998;Jonas et al 1988;Varma et al 1994). On the other hand, some papers have reported such a correlation (Garway-Heath et al 1997;Healey et al 1997;Tsai et al 1992).…”

“…(Balazsi et al 1984;Mikelberg et al 1991;Repka & Quigley 1989). Indeed, several reports have revealed age-related changes in the optic disc configuration (Carpel & Engstrom 1981;Garway-Heath et al 1997;Healey et al 1997;Tsai et al 1992), while other reports have demonstrated no age-related changes (Britton et al 1987;Funk et al 1989;Gundersen et al 1998;Jonas et al 1988;Varma et al 1994). There are few reports, however, regarding factors influencing the normal optic disc among Asian people.…”

Comparison of ranked segment analysis (RSA) and cup to disc ratio in computer‐assisted optic disc evaluation

“…Physiological variability in optic disc rim measurements is highest at the temporal portion (Gundersen et al 1998). Here, rim measurements may vary from very high to almost zero even between normal subjects.…”

“…This database has been published elsewhere (Gundersen et al 1998). All eyes had visual acuity Ø20/25 and IOP AE21 mm HG.…”