Türk Halkında Ganglion Hücre Kompleksinin ve Retina Sinir Lifi Kalınlığının Yaş ve Cinsiyete Göre RTVue optik kohorens tomografi ile değerlendirilmesi

Aim: To determine the effects of age and sex on retinal ganglion cell complex thickness and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in the eyes of healthy individuals determined using RTVue optical coherence tomography.

Patients and Methods: We evaluated 393 healthy Turkish subjects aged 10-84 years in a cross-sectional study. Linear regression analysis and Pearson’s correlation were performed to analyze the difference in the age-related changes. We evaluated the relationship between the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and ganglion cell complex thickness using Pearson’s correlation.

Results: The whole population mean retinal nerve fiber layer thickness was 108.94±9.77 µm, and decreased by 0.101 µm/year (95% confidence interval (CI), -0.151, -0.051; linear regression analysis, p<0.001). The most significant decrease was in the supero-temporal sector (0.197 µm/year, 95% CI, -0.293, -0.101; linear regression analysis, p<0.001).There was no difference in the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness between sexes, except for the superior quadrant. The mean ganglion cell complex thickness was 97.45±6.42  µm, and decreased by 0.043 µm/year (95% CI, -0.079, -0.007; linear regression analysis, p=0.019). There was no relationship between sex and ganglion cell complex thickness. The mean retinal nerve fiber layer and ganglion cell complex thicknesses exhibited a significant correlation (p<0.001 and r=0.630).

Conclusion: The ganglion cell complex thickness and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness decreased significantly with age but ganglion cell complex thickness was less affected. In addition, the ganglion cell complex thickness and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness were greater in the present study than in the RTVue database. These differences should be taken into consideration because they may lead to delayed diagnosis.