Comparison of the Morphology of the Foveal Pit Between African and Caucasian Populations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to characterize foveal pit morphology in an African (Ghanaian) population, to compare it to that of a Caucasian group and to determine if it varied with age in the two populations. Methods: The depth, diameter, slope, and volume of the foveal pit were interpolated from optical coherence tomography volume scans recorded in 84 Ghanaian and 37 Caucasian individuals. Their association with age, sex, and ethnicity was investigated using multilevel regression models. Results: The foveal pit differed significantly in width, slope, and volume between Ghanaian men and women (P < 0.001), but only in width and volume between Caucasian men and women (P < 0.01). In Ghanaians, age was associated with a narrowing of the foveal depression and a reduction of its volume. Overall, these changes were more pronounced in women as compared to men and were largely absent from the Caucasian group. When controlled for age, the foveal pit of Ghanaians was significantly wider and larger in volume as compared to the Caucasian group (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The morphology of the foveal pit differs between African and Caucasian individuals. These anatomic differences should be considered when examining differences in prevalence and clinical features of vitreoretinal disorders involving the fovea between the two populations. Translational Relevance: Differences in retinal anatomy may partly explain variations in the prevalence and clinical features of retinal diseases between Africans and Caucasians. Such differences should be adequately considered in diagnoses and monitoring of ocular diseases in patients with African ancestry.

Assessing Foveal Structure in Individuals with TYR R402Q and S192Y Hypomorphic Alleles

“…On one end of the pigmentation spectrum are Black individuals, who have deeper and broader foveal pits. 12,13 On the other end are patients with albinism, who range from having an absent foveal pit to a shallow pit. 11 White individuals and individuals from other racial backgrounds fall in between these extremes.…”

“…It has been shown that Black individuals have significantly deeper and broader pits compared to their White counterparts. 12,13 While there is no evidence for racial differences in retinal pigment epithelium melanin, there are racial differences in choroidal melanin. 14 If racial differences in choroidal melanin result in differences in foveal morphology, it stands to reason that individual variation in choroidal melanin could contribute to the above mentioned variation in foveal morphology.…”

Review of OCT Angiography Findings in Diabetic Retinopathy: Insights and Perspectives

“…This is not the only issue that arises when using FAZ-based metrics. Within normal eyes, the size of the FAZ is highly variable, influenced by patient age, sex, race, central foveal thickness, and axial length [104][105][106][107][108][109]. Foremost among these factors is axial length, a measure of the length of the eyeball from the corneal surface to the retinal pigment epithelium.…”

Foveal Pit Morphology Characterization: A Quantitative Analysis of the Key Methodological Steps

“…The main objective of this approach is to study the fovea as a whole by computing a set of parameters that describe foveal pit features such as slope, width or depth. Applying this analysis, studies in healthy populations discovered important racial and sex differences in foveal pit morphology [19][20][21][22]. Additionally, some studies investigated differences in the fovea of patients with Parkinson's disease [23][24][25], foveal retinopathy [26] and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders [27].…”

“…An accurate placement of the foveal center is therefore crucial. However, not all studies included a step to locate the foveal center [20], and there has not been much research into comparing different foveal center location approaches. Common strategies include using the built-in function of Cirrus scanner [19,25], and using the minimum thickness point of either the TRT map [22,28], or each B-scan [29,30].…”