Alteration of retinal layers in healthy subjects over 60 years of age until nonagenarians

Lebriz Altay,1 Cheryl Jahn,1 Mücella Arikan Yorgun,1 Albert Caramoy,1 Tina Schick,1 Carel B Hoyng,2 Anneke I den Hollander,2 Sascha Fauser1 1Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands Purpose: To assess alterations of retinal layers in healthy subjects over 60 years old. Methods: Retinal layers of 160 healthy subjects (aged 60–100 years) without any retinal pathology were imaged using spectral domain optical coherence tomography. Mean thickness of retinal nerve fiber layer, ganglion cell/inner plexiform layer (GCLIPL), inner nuclear layer, outer plexiform layer/outer nuclear layer, photoreceptor complex (PR) and retinal thickness (RT) were measured in a 3.45 mm grid. Correlations between age and layers were estimated and linear regression equations were calculated. Different age-groups (60–69, 70–79, 80–89 years and nonagenarians, each group with 40 participants) were compared. Results: Significant age-thickness correlations were observed for GCLIPL (P