Age, gender, IOP, refraction and optic disc topography in normal eyes. A cross-sectional study using raster and scanning laser tomography

Abstract

Purpose: To study the influeuce of age, gender, intraocular pressure and refraction on optic disc topography in normal subjects. Methods: We studied both eyes of 225 healthy subjects between 20 and 80 years of age using raster tomography (Glaucoma-Scope®, Ophthalmic Imaging Systems, Sacramento CA, USA) and scanning laser tomography (Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany). We chose to study cup area and maximum cup depth, two variables that are minimally influenced by the operator. Results: Raster and scanning laser tomography results were strongly correlated. Cup area was independent of age, gender and refraction. It was weakly associated with IOP, but this association was significant only when the cup area was measured with scanning laser tomography. Maximum cup depth was independent of age, gender and IOP. It was larger in hypermetropic eyes, although this trend was significant only when maximum cup depth was measured with raster tomography. Conclusion: Our results indicate that optic nerve head topography does not change significantly with age in normal subjects. This information has important implications for follow-up of pathological changes in optic nerve head topography.