Purpose: To compare the clinical and genetic characteristics of simple and complex central serous chorioretinopathy using central serous chorioretinopathy international group criteria.
Methods: Patients with idiopathic central serous chorioretinopathy were included. Depending on the presence or absence of retinal pigment alterations greater than 2-disc areas in either eye, patients were classified into complex or simple types. Demographic factors and clinical findings were compared between groups. CFH variants, including rs800292 and rs1329428, were genotyped using TaqMan technology.
Results: A total of 319 consecutive patients were evaluated at the initial presentation. Of them, 53 (16.6%) had the complex type. The complex type was exclusively seen in men (100% vs. 79.0%, P = 2.0 × 10 -4 ) and demonstrated a significantly higher proportion of bilateral involvement (75.5% vs. 17.7%, P = 6.2 × 10 -18 ) and descending tract(s) (83.0% vs. 0%, P = 1.2 × 10 -57 ) than the simple type. Increased choroidal thickness (425 ± 131 vs. 382 ± 110, P = 0.02) and decreased central retinal thickness (274 ± 151 vs. 337 ± 136, P = 2.9 × 10 -4 ) were observed for the complex versus simple type. The risk allele frequencies of both variants were significantly higher in the complex versus simple type (rs800292: 61.3% vs. 48.7%, P = 0.018; rs1329428: 65.1% vs. 54.3%, P = 0.04).
Conclusion: In this new classification system, the complex type has distinct genetic and clinical characteristics compared with the simple type.