Effects of physical exercise on macular vessel density and choroidal thickness in children

Li, Shufeng; Pan, Yiguo; Xu, Jin; Li, Xue; Spiegel, D.; Bao, Jinhua; Chen, Hao

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-81770-y

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Similar to the findings in young adults, we could not observe any correlation between retinal and choroidal thickness changes postexercise; also, there was no obvious trend in choroidal changes in this period due to the large deviation of the measurements. Some studies have found a significant decrease in macular and optic nerve head flow density along with a decreased vascular density in the deep retinal layers of myopic eyes (Alnawaiseh et al, 2017), and increased vascular density was detected following 30 min of rest after physical exercise in the whole retina in children with myopia and emmetropia as well (Li et al, 2021). These observations could also explain the trend toward an acute thinning of the retina observed postexercise in our cohort.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

The Assessment of Acute Chorioretinal Changes Due to Intensive Physical Exercise in Senior Elite Athletes

Szalai

Csorba

Tian

et al. 2023

Journal of Aging and Physical Activity

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Regular physical exercise is known to lower the incidence of age-related eye diseases. We aimed to assess the acute chorioretinal alterations in older adults following intense physical strain. Seventeen senior elite athletes were recruited who underwent an aerobic exercise on a cycle ergometer and macular scanning by optical coherence tomography. A significant thinning of the entire retina was observed 1 min after exercise, followed by a thickening at 5 min, after which the thickness returned to baseline. This trend was similar in almost every single retinal layer, although a significant change was observed only in the inner retina. Choroidal thickness changes were neither significant nor did they correlate with the thickness changes of intraretinal layers. The mechanism of how these immediate retinal changes chronically impact age-related sight-threatening pathologies that, in turn, result in a substantially reduced quality of life warrants further investigation on nontrained older adults as well.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

The Assessment of Acute Chorioretinal Changes Due to Intensive Physical Exercise in Senior Elite Athletes

Szalai

Csorba

Tian

et al. 2023

Journal of Aging and Physical Activity

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“…In some studies, macular perfusion and retinal vascular density were reported to decrease significantly after exercise [ 39 , 42 ] which may explain the acute thinning of the choroid just after the physical strain. In our study, after the trend for acute thinning in the first post-exercise minute, we observed a thickening trend at 5 minutes, followed by another thinning trend at 30 minutes and then a slow thickening again, which may refer to an extended choroidal reaction and regeneration.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In our study, after the trend for acute thinning in the first post-exercise minute, we observed a thickening trend at 5 minutes, followed by another thinning trend at 30 minutes and then a slow thickening again, which may refer to an extended choroidal reaction and regeneration. Li et al also reported a decrease in choroidal thickness after moderate physical activity that lasted for at least 30 minutes; however, they did not examine the first 10 minutes of the recovery period [ 42 ]. The dilatation or contraction of the vascular or non-vascular smooth muscles of the choroid may modulate the blood flow [ 41 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The assessment of acute chorioretinal changes due to intensive physical exercise in young adults

et al. 2022

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Purpose There is abundant evidence on the benefits of physical activity on cardiovascular health. However, there are only few data on the acute effects of physical exercise on the retina and choroid. Our aim was the in vivo examination of chorioretinal alterations following short intense physical activity by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Methods Twenty-one eyes of 21 healthy, young subjects (mean age 22.5 ± 4.1 years, 15 males and 6 females) were recruited. Macular scanning with a SD-OCT was performed before and following a vita maxima-type physical strain exercise on a rowing ergometer until complete fatigue. Follow-up OCT scans were performed 1, 5, 15, 30 and 60 minutes following the exercise. The OCT images were exported and analyzed using our custom-built OCTRIMA 3D software and the thickness of 7 retinal layers was calculated, along with semi-automated measurement of the choroidal thickness. One-way ANOVA analysis was performed followed by Dunnett post hoc test for the thickness change compared to baseline and the correlation between performance and thickness change has also been calculated. The level of significance was set at 0.001. Results We observed a significant thinning of the total retina 1 minute post-exercise (-7.3 ± 0.6 μm, p < 0.001) which was followed by a significant thickening by 5 and 15 minutes (+3.6 ± 0.6 μm and +4.0 ± 0.6 μm, respectively, both p <0.001). Post-exercise retinal thickness returned to baseline by 30 minutes. This trend was present throughout the most layers of the retina, with significant changes in the ganglion cell–inner plexiform layer complex, (-1.3 ± 0.1 μm, +0.6 ± 0.1 μm and +0.7 ± 0.1 μm, respectively, p <0.001 for all), in the inner nuclear layer at 1 and 5 minutes (-0.8 ± 0.1 μm and +0.8 ± 0.1 μm, respectively, p <0.001 for both), in the outer nuclear layer–photoreceptor inner segment complex at 5 minute (+2.3 ± 0.4 μm, p <0.001 for all) and in the interdigitation zone–retinal pigment epithelium complex at 1 and 15 minutes (-3.3 ± 0.4 μm and +1.8 ± 0.4 μm, respectively, p <0.001 for both). There was no significant change in choroidal thickness; however, we could detect a tendency towards thinning at 1, 15, and 30 minutes following exercise. The observed changes in thickness change did not correlate with performance. Similar trends were observed in both professional and amateur sportsmen (n = 15 and n = 6, respectively). The absolute changes in choroidal thickness did not show any correlation with the thickness changes of the intraretinal layers. Conclusions Our study implies that in young adults, intense physical exercise has an acute effect on the granular layers of the retina, resulting in thinning followed by rebound thickening before normalization. We could not identify any clear correlation with either choroidal changes or performance that might explain our observations, and hence the exact mechanism warrants further clarification. We believe that a combination of vascular and mechanic changes is behind the observed trends.

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“…The choroid is a highly vascularized tissue, which makes it more suspectable to inflammation and ischemia-associated systemic disorders. A reduction in ChT following exercise might be related to an exercise-induced decrease in the flow of the internal carotid artery 37 . Regarding weakly significant results of this study, it can be postulated that temporal and partial nasal choroidal thinning in the pediatric COVID-19 patients may be related to blood flow reduction due to SARS-CoV-2 caused hypercoagulability and vasculitis 38 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Pediatric COVID-19 Study: Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer, Ganglion Cell Layer, and Alterations in Choroidal Thickness in Swept-Source OCT Measurements

Akpolat

Çetinkaya

Kurt

2022

Klin Monbl Augenheilkd

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Purpose To investigate early covid measurements of central macular thickness (CMT), retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), ganglion cell layer (GCL) thickness, and choroidal thickness (ChT) in children recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods This cross-sectional study was carried out 4 weeks after completed COVID-19 treatment. The diagnosis of the Alpha variant COVID-19 was made by the polymerase chain reaction test after prediagnosis with clinical, laboratory, and radiological findings. A total of 46 children were included in the study. Pediatric patients who received COVID-19 treatment comprised the COVID-19 group (24 children), and healthy children were enrolled in the control group (22 children). Only the right eyes of the participants were enrolled in the study. All pediatric patients in the COVID-19 group required hospitalization without the need for intubation. Swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) was used to measure CMT, RNFL, and GCL thickness, and ChT measurements. Results The COVID-19 and control groups had similar mean values of visual acuity, intraocular pressure, spherical equivalent, axial length, and CMT (p > 0.05 for all). RNFL thickening, GCL, and choroidal thinning were observed in all SS-OCT measurements of COVID-19 children. However, RNFL thickening was significant only in the global and nasal peripapillary quadrants. GCL thinning was significant in the nasal/inferior sector (p < 0.002 for all). Some significant correlations were observed between the mean levels of inflammatory markers and OCT measurements (p < 0.002). Conclusion This study may be among the first reports of SS-OCT examination of COVID-19 children. OCT measurements showed changes in retinal and ChT in the COVID-19 children as in adult patients.

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Effects of physical exercise on macular vessel density and choroidal thickness in children

Cited by 13 publications

References 35 publications

The Assessment of Acute Chorioretinal Changes Due to Intensive Physical Exercise in Senior Elite Athletes

The Assessment of Acute Chorioretinal Changes Due to Intensive Physical Exercise in Senior Elite Athletes

The assessment of acute chorioretinal changes due to intensive physical exercise in young adults

A Pediatric COVID-19 Study: Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer, Ganglion Cell Layer, and Alterations in Choroidal Thickness in Swept-Source OCT Measurements

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