Relationship Between Retinal Perfusion and Retinal Thickness in Healthy Subjects: An Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Study

PURPOSE To investigate the relationship between retinal perfusion and retinal thickness in the peripapillary and macular areas of healthy subjects. METHODS Using spectral-domain optic coherence tomography and split-spectrum amplitude decorrelation angiography (SSADA) algorithm, retinal perfusion and retinal thicknesses in the macular and peripapillary areas were measured in healthy volunteers, and correlations among these variables were analyzed. RESULTS Overall, 64 subjects (121 eyes) including 28 males and 36 females with a mean ± SD age of 38 ± 13 years participated. Linear mixed-models showed that vessel area density was significantly correlated with the inner retinal thickness (from the inner limiting membrane to the outer border of the inner nucleus layer; P < 0.05), but not with the thickness of the full retina (P > 0.05) in the parafoveal area. The area of the foveal capillary-free zone was negatively correlated with the inner and full foveal thicknesses (all P < 0.001). In the peripapillary area, the vessel area density was positively correlated with the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS In healthy subjects, retinal perfusion in small vessels was closely correlated with the thickness of the inner retinal layers in both the macular and peripapillary areas.