Choroidal Thickness in Healthy Children

In Brief Purpose: To evaluate the choroidal thickness profiles of healthy children using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography. Methods: Horizontal and vertical enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography crosshair scans through the fovea were obtained from 48 healthy children. Choroidal thickness was measured at the fovea, 1 mm and 3 mm nasal, temporal, superior, and inferior to the fovea, and comparisons of choroidal thickness at different measurement points were performed. Results: The mean subfoveal choroidal thickness was 348.4 ± 82.5 μm and the thickness at 1 mm nasal, temporal, superior, and inferior to the fovea was 306.1 ± 86.3, 352.0 ± 84.8, 349.9 ± 83.8, and 343.8 ± 86.8 μm, respectively. The thickness at 3 mm nasal, temporal, superior, and inferior to the fovea was 190.1 ± 63.9, 339.2 ± 89.8, 330.7 ± 82.1, and 309.9 ± 78.4 μm, respectively. Subfoveal choroidal thickness was negatively correlated with age. Conclusion: The data, obtained using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography, provide the choroidal thickness profile of healthy children. The characteristic choroidal thickness profile in children suggests a redistribution process of choroidal tissue with aging. The study reports the choroidal thickness profile of healthy children for the first time. The authors hope that the results of the study could provide normative data for pediatric ophthalmologists and also provide some clue to the question of whether the large variation in choroidal thickness is normal or a consequence of a pathologic process.