Flow density measurements using optical coherence tomography angiography: Impact of age and gender Messung der Flussdichte mittels OCT-Angiographie: Einfluss von Alter und Geschlecht

Alnawaiseh M., Brand C., Lauermann J., Eter N.

Abstract

Background: This article presents the normative data for flow density measured using optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography and the impact of age and gender is evaluated. Methods: In this study 58 eyes from 58 healthy volunteers with no history of any ocular disease or ocular surgery were included. The OCT angiography imaging was performed using the RTVue XR Avanti with the AngioVue (Optovue, Fremont, CA). The macula was imaged using a 3 × 3 mm scan, and the flow density data in the superficial retinal OCT angiogram and deep retinal OCT angiogram were extracted and analyzed. The groups were compared using the Mann-Whitney U‑test and the degree of correlation between two variables was expressed as the Spearman’s correlation coefficient (rSp.) Results: The mean subject age was 38.3 ± 14.6 years. The flow density (whole en face) in the deep retinal OCT angiogram was significantly higher compared to the flow density in the superficial retinal OCT angiogram (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the mean flow density in superficial and deep OCT angiograms of the macula between males (n = 27) and females (n = 31). There was a significant correlation between the flow density in the deep retinal OCT angiogram and age (rSp. = −0.41, p = 0.001). Conclusion: Whereas gender has no impact on the flow density measured using OCT angiography, there was a significant correlation between the flow density in the deep retinal OCT angiogram and age.