Assessment of choroidal vascularity index in juvenile idiopathic arthritis: implications for disease monitoring

Abstract

Purpose: Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) can affect ocular structures, but choroidal involvement is not well understood. This study investigates the Choroidal Vascularity Index (CVI) in JIA patients compared to healthy controls and explores its relationship with disease activity. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 35 JIA patients and 40 healthy controls underwent comprehensive ophthalmic examination and swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). CVI, central macular thickness (CMT), and subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) were measured. The Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score (JADAS) was calculated for JIA patients. Statistical analysis included comparison between groups and correlation analysis. Results: JIA patients showed significantly lower CVI compared to controls (68.3 ± 2.5% vs. 72 ± 4.6%, p < 0.001). No significant difference was found in SFCT. CVI demonstrated a moderate negative correlation with JADAS (r = -0.368, p < 0.05). However, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed poor diagnostic performance of CVI for detecting JIA (AUC = 0.25). Conclusion: The study reveals reduced choroidal vascularity in JIA patients and a correlation between CVI and disease activity. While CVI shows limited diagnostic utility, it may serve as a potential marker for monitoring inflammatory burden and treatment response in JIA. Further research is needed to establish its clinical utility fully.