Macular, choroidal, and peripapillary OCT parameters in portuguese schoolchildren: normative data and associations with refractive status.
Choroidal thickness under the macula is thinner in myopic children than in normal-sighted children.
Macular, choroidal, and peripapillary OCT parameters in portuguese schoolchildren: normative data and associations with refractive status.
Optical coherence tomography (optical coherence tomography) provides high-resolution structural measurements of the retina, choroid, and optic nerve.
This study aimed to describe optical coherence tomography-derived macular, choroidal, and peripapillary parameters in Portuguese children and adolescents (6-18 years) and evaluate associations with refractive status.
Cross-sectional study including 605 children (127 myopes, 263 emmetropes, 215 hyperopes).
myopic children had thinner choroid under the retina than others
Foveal retinal thickness did not differ significantly among groups (p = 0.727).
Peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness was reduced in myopes compared with emmetropes in multiple sectors (p < 0.001).
Macular inner limiting membrane to retinal pigment epithelium volume and area were slightly lower in myopes (p < 0.05).
Axial length was correlated with subfoveal choroidal thickness (r≈-0.18) and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (r≈-0.30).
This study provides the most comprehensive multi-parameter optical coherence tomography normative dataset in Portuguese schoolchildren to date, including macular, choroidal, and peripapillary parameters in the largest Portuguese pediatric cohort (n = 605), highlighting refractive error-related structural differences.
These data provide population-level normative reference values that may inform clinical and research applications in Portuguese pediatric populations, pending validation in independent cohorts.