Macular choroidal thickness and volume in healthy pediatric individuals measured by swept-source optical coherence tomography.

Purpose: We evaluated the choroidal thickness and volume in healthy pediatric individuals by swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) and compared the findings to those of adults.
Methods: We examined 100 eyes of 100 healthy pediatric volunteers (3-15 years) and 83 eyes of 83 healthy adult volunteers (24-87 years) by SS-OCT with a tunable long wavelength laser source. The three-dimensional raster scan protocol was used to construct a choroidal thickness map. When the built-in software delineated an erroneous chorioscleral border in the B-scan images, manual segmentation was used.
Results: The central choroidal thickness and volume within a 1.0-mm circle were significantly larger in the children (260.4 ± 57.2 μm, 0.205 ± 0.045 mm(3)) than in the adults (206.1 ± 72.5 μm, 0.160 ± 0.056 mm(3), both P < 0.0001). In the children, the mean choroidal thickness of the nasal area was significantly thinner than that of all other areas (P < 0.005). Pediatric choroidal thinning with increasing age in the central area was faster than that in the outer areas. Stepwise regression analysis showed that the axial length and body mass index had the highest correlation with the choroidal thickness (R(2) = 0.313, P < 0.0001).
Conclusions: The macular choroidal thickness and volume in the pediatric individuals were significantly larger than those in the adults. The pediatric choroidal thinning with increasing age is more rapid in the central area. Pediatric choroidal thickness is associated with several systemic or ocular parameters, especially the axial length and body mass index. These differences should be remembered when the choroidal thickness is evaluated in pediatric patients with retinochoroidal diseases.