Age and race affect OCT

Practitioners using optical coherence tomography (OCT) as a diagnostic tool should be aware of the influence of both age and ethnicity upon various ocular parameters.

A recent study published in Ophthalmology reported on spectral domain OCT findings from 632 eyes of healthy patients from 11 clinics from four parts of the world. Participants of European descent had a significantly smaller optic disc area than other groups, while Indian participants had significantly smaller rim area than other groups.

Indian and Hispanic subjects had thicker global retinal nerve fibre layer thickness measurements than other groups, whereas participants of African descent were associated with thinner inner retinal thickness in the macula. Age was associated with several parameters, with rim area reducing by 0.005mm2/year, RNFL thickness reducing by 0.18µm/year, and inner retinal thickness reducing by 0.1µm/year (P<0.0001 for all age associations).