AUTHOR=Shi Ya , Ye Luyao , Chen Qiuying , Hu Guangyi , Yin Yao , Fan Ying , Zhu Jianfeng , He Jiangnan , Zheng Zhi , Zou Haidong , Xu Xun 

TITLE=Macular Vessel Density Changes in Young Adults With High Myopia: A Longitudinal Study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.648644

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2021.648644

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> To characterize the longitudinal changes of macular vessel density in young adults and its associated factors.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> The right eyes of 309 participants (75 high myopic, 194 mild-to-moderate myopic, and 40 healthy) were followed up for 21 months. OCTA images were acquired at two visits using follow-up scans. Macular vessel density was calculated globally and in the nine early treatment diabetic retinopathy study (ETDRS) subfields of the macula superficial layer.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> The macular vessel density significantly decreased in young myopes after a 21-month follow up (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05), with variations among sectors. Compared with healthy eyes, HM group exhibited a faster reduction in global macular vessel density (<italic>p</italic> = 0.0307) as well as in sectors of inner-inferior (II), inner-temporal (IT), and outer-temporal (OT) (all <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05). Multivariate regression analysis showed that longer baseline axial length (AL) was significantly associated with larger reduction of macular vessel density in the inner-inferior, inner-temporal and outer-temporal sectors (all <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05).</p><p><bold>Conclusions:</bold> Compared with emmetropes, high myopes presented greater loss of macular vessel density over time in global and in the inner-inferior, inner-temporal and outer-temporal sectors. A longer baseline AL was associated with larger changes of macular vessel density in the inner-inferior, inner-temporal and outer-temporal sectors.</p>