Choroidal thickness in eyes of migraine patients measured using spectral domain-optical coherence tomography: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Recent developments in high-resolution optical coherence tomography allow evaluation of even the slightest changes of choroidal thickness in various disorders, including migraine. In this review, we analyze the choroidal thickness measurements reported in various studies that compare results between migraineurs and healthy individuals. We searched PubMed, Scopus, and EMBASE to identify relevant literature reporting choroidal thickness in the migraineurs' different macular regions compared with healthy controls. A fixed-effects or random-effects model was applied for the meta-analysis based on the heterogeneity level. Moreover, subgroup analyses, meta-regression, publication bias, and quality assessment were also performed. We identified ten studies involving 580 migraineurs (173 with aura, 128 without aura, and 279 without specification for the presence of aura) and 407 healthy controls to be included in this meta-analysis. Results indicated that average choroidal thickness was significantly decreased in the migraine cases (SMD, −1.28; 95% CI, −2.47 to −0.08; P = 0.04) compared to healthy individuals. Furthermore, both with aura (SMD, −1.16; 95% CI, −1.39 to −0.92; P < 0.0001) and without aura migraine patients (SMD, −0.81; 95% CI, −1.28 to −0.34; P < 0.001) had significantly thinner subfoveal choroid compared to healthy controls. Moreover, subfoveal choroidal thickness in the migraineurs with aura was significantly lower than those without aura (SMD, −0.45; 95% CI, −0.84 to −0.05; P = 0.03). The alterations in choroidal thickness, suggestive of migraine's neurovascular pathophysiology, were tentatively confirmed by this study's findings. Further longitudinal studies with more diverse settings are required to derive more definitive conclusions.