Choroidal thickness in healthy Japanese subjects.

Purpose. To study posterior choroidal thickness and its profile based on location in healthy Japanese subjects and the correlation with axial length, refractive error (RE), and age. Methods. Eighty-six eyes of 43 healthy volunteers with no ophthalmic or systemic symptoms were examined with prototype high-penetration optical coherence tomography using a 1060-nm light source. Eyes with high myopia (exceeding -6 D) or with retinal/choroidal disease were excluded. The spherical equivalent RE was measured by autorefractometry, and the axial length was measured by partial coherence inferometry. Results. Mean choroidal thicknesses were 354 +/- 111 mum at the fovea, 364 +/- 86 mum superiorly, 345 +/- 108 mum inferiorly, 227 +/- 532 mum nasally, and 337 +/- 102 mum temporally. Subfoveal choroidal thickness was significantly greater than nasal (P < 0.01) and temporal (P < 0.05) choroidal thickness; however, there was no significant difference compared with superior (P = 0.20) and inferior (P = 0.17) choroidal thickness. The temporal choroid was significantly (P < 0.01) thicker than the nasal choroid, and the inferior choroid was significantly (P < 0.01) thinner than the superior choroid. There was a significant negative correlation between foveal choroidal thickness and axial length (P < 0.05) but a borderline correlation with the RE (P = 0.086) and age (P = 0.07). Age was the factor that was most associated with the choroidal thickness (F = 20.86; P < 0.001), followed by RE (F = 5.37; P < 0.05); axial length was not a significant factor (F = 1.47; P = 0.22) by stepwise analysis. Conclusions. The profile of choroidal thickness depends on its location. RE, axial length, and especially age are critical for evaluation of choroidal thickness.