Foveal Volume in Relation to Degree of Myopia in Malay Subjects: A Time-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography Study

1. Shah Farez Othman^1,2,3
2. Sharanjeet - Kaur Malkeet Singh²
3. Faudziah Abd Manan²
4. Ahmad Iskandar Zulkarnain¹
5. Zainal Mohamad³
6. Azrin E Ariffin¹

¹Faculty of Optometry & Vision Sciences, SEGi University College, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
²Optometry Programme, National University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
³National Institute of Ophthalmic Science, Tun Hussein Onn National Eye Hospital, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the relationships between foveal volume and first, spherical equivalent refraction (SER), and secondly, axial length of the eyeball (AL) in Malay subjects.

Methods: Fifty-nine Malay subjects (age range 19 to 24 years old) with mean SER of -1.91 ± 2.27 D (range +0.50 D to -8.00 D) and mean AL of 24.29 ± 1.38 mm were included in this clinical cross-sectional study. Time-domain Optical Coherence Tomography was used to determine the foveal volume at the macular area.

Results: Foveal volume increased with increasing level of myopia (r = -0.35, p <0.05), and AL (r = 0.50, p <0.05).

Conclusion: This study shows that increment in refractive error in the myopic direction is associated with an increase in foveal volume. Foveal volume also increases with elongation of the globe; this excess foveal tissue may potentially have a protective effect on central visual function in the myopic eye ravaged by peripheral thinning of the retina.