Purpose: To measure subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) in the elderly and to determine the associations among SFCT, cardiovascular history, and the 10-year risk of fatal cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Methods: We conducted a population-based study, the Montrachet (Maculopathy Optic Nerve, nuTRition neurovAsCular, and HEarT disease) study, in subjects older than 75 years. SFCT was measured with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) with enhanced-depth mode imaging. Participants underwent a comprehensive eye examination. The history of CVD, CVD risk factors, and a score-based estimation of their 10-year risk of cardiovascular mortality (Heart Score) were collected.
Results: Overall, 764 participants were retained for analysis. The mean SFCT was 206.4 ± 83.0 μm. The mean age was 81.9 ± 3.6 years. After a multivariable analysis, older age (β = -32.56 μm, P < 0.001) and longer axial length (β = -20.71 μm, P < 0.001) were independently associated with thinner SFCT. SFCT was not significantly associated with sex, cardiovascular history, classical CVD risk factors, or prognostic risk score.
Conclusions: This study confirms that longer axial length and older age are associated with thinner SFCT. However, SFCT does not appear to be a biomarker for cardiovascular history in this study.