MACULAR THICKNESS BY USING SPECTRAL DOMAIN OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS.

Purpose: To determine the distribution of macular and cube thickness and their normal range in the students aged 9 years to 15 years and to investigate their associated demographic and biometric factors.
Methods: This study was based on the data of the second phase of the Shahroud School Children Eye Cohort Study, conducted in 2018. After measurements of visual acuity, biometry, and subjective and cycloplegic refraction, retinal examination was performed using the Zeiss Cirrus HD 4000 optical coherence tomography.
Results: The data of 5,043 right eyes were analyzed after applying the exclusion criteria. The central macular thickness was 239 ± 19.35 μ m. The mean cube volume and cube thickness were 9.94 ± 0.44 and 278 ± 12.20, respectively. According to multiple linear regression analysis, the central macular thickness was significantly lower in girls (coefficient [β]: -9.18; P < 0.001) and rural students (β: 3.86; P < 0.001) and had a direct association with axial length (β: 5.19; P < 0.001), lens thickness (β: 5.33; P = 0.003), and mean keratometry (β: 2.41; P < 0.001). The cube volume was lower in girls (β: -0.13; P < 0.001) and higher in rural students (β: 0.05; P < 0.001).
Conclusion: Macular thickness was slightly higher in Iranian children. Sex, living place, axial length, lens thickness, and mean keratometry were the main associated factors with macular thickness.