Skip to main content

Racial differences and determinants of macular thickness profiles in multiethnic Asian population: the Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Diseases Study.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Wong, KH; Tham, Y-C; Nguyen, DQ; Dai, W; Tan, NYQ; Mathijia, S; Neelam, K; Cheung, CY-L; Sabanayagam, C; Schmetterer, L; Wong, TY; Cheng, C-Y
Published in: Br J Ophthalmol
July 2019

AIM: To evaluate racial differences, and ocular and systemic determinants of macular thickness (MT), measured by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in a normal multiethnic Asian population. METHOD: MT was measured from a 6×6 mm2 central macular area using the Cirrus high-definition OCT (HD-OCT) (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA). The associations between ocular and systemic factors with MT were evaluated using linear regression analyses with generalised estimating equation models to account for intereye correlation. RESULTS: 7447 healthy eyes (2577 Chinese, 2072 Malays and 2798 Indians) of 4510 subjects were included. Multivariable analysis showed that older age (per decade, β=-4.39), female gender (β=-5.74), diabetes (β=-1.10), chronic kidney disease (CKD) (β=-3.21), longer axial length (per mm, β=-2.34), flatter corneal curvature (per mm, β=-1.79) and presence of cataract (β=-0.94) were associated with thinner overall average MT (OMT) (all p≤0.026); higher total cholesterol (β=0.44; p=0.010) was associated with thicker OMT. All these factors were also associated with thinner central subfield MT (CSMT) (all p≤0.001), except for cataract, total cholesterol and CKD. Meanwhile, longer axial length (β=2.51; p<0.001) was associated with thicker CSMT. OMT (mean±SD) was thickest in Chinese (279.9±12.5 µm), followed by Malays (276.5±13.7 µm) and Indians (272.4±13.1 µm), with p≤0.003 for all interethnic comparisons. Similar trend was observed for CSMT. CONCLUSION: There are interethnic differences in MT profile among Asians, particularly between Chinese and Indians. Ocular and systemic factors affect MT measurements as well. This Asian-specific information may be incorporated into existing clinical interpretation of macular OCT scans to aid in improving the diagnostic and monitoring accuracy of macular diseases among Asians.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Br J Ophthalmol

DOI

EISSN

1468-2079

Publication Date

July 2019

Volume

103

Issue

7

Start / End Page

894 / 899

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Tomography, Optical Coherence
  • Singapore
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Racial Groups
  • Population Surveillance
  • Ophthalmology & Optometry
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Macula Lutea
  • Humans
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Wong, K. H., Tham, Y.-C., Nguyen, D. Q., Dai, W., Tan, N. Y. Q., Mathijia, S., … Cheng, C.-Y. (2019). Racial differences and determinants of macular thickness profiles in multiethnic Asian population: the Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Diseases Study. Br J Ophthalmol, 103(7), 894–899. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjophthalmol-2018-312447
Wong, Kah Hie, Yih-Chung Tham, Duc Quang Nguyen, Wei Dai, Nicholas Y. Q. Tan, Shivani Mathijia, Kumari Neelam, et al. “Racial differences and determinants of macular thickness profiles in multiethnic Asian population: the Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Diseases Study.Br J Ophthalmol 103, no. 7 (July 2019): 894–99. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjophthalmol-2018-312447.
Wong KH, Tham Y-C, Nguyen DQ, Dai W, Tan NYQ, Mathijia S, et al. Racial differences and determinants of macular thickness profiles in multiethnic Asian population: the Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Diseases Study. Br J Ophthalmol. 2019 Jul;103(7):894–9.
Wong, Kah Hie, et al. “Racial differences and determinants of macular thickness profiles in multiethnic Asian population: the Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Diseases Study.Br J Ophthalmol, vol. 103, no. 7, July 2019, pp. 894–99. Pubmed, doi:10.1136/bjophthalmol-2018-312447.
Wong KH, Tham Y-C, Nguyen DQ, Dai W, Tan NYQ, Mathijia S, Neelam K, Cheung CY-L, Sabanayagam C, Schmetterer L, Wong TY, Cheng C-Y. Racial differences and determinants of macular thickness profiles in multiethnic Asian population: the Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Diseases Study. Br J Ophthalmol. 2019 Jul;103(7):894–899.

Published In

Br J Ophthalmol

DOI

EISSN

1468-2079

Publication Date

July 2019

Volume

103

Issue

7

Start / End Page

894 / 899

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Tomography, Optical Coherence
  • Singapore
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Racial Groups
  • Population Surveillance
  • Ophthalmology & Optometry
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Macula Lutea
  • Humans