Comparisons between retinal vessel calibers and various optic disc morphologic parameters with different optic disc appearances: The Glaucoma Stereo Analysis Study

Abstract

The Glaucoma Stereo Analysis Study (GSAS) is a multicenter collaborative study of the characteristics of glaucomatous optic disc morphology using a stereo fundus camera. This study evaluated the retinal vessel calibers and correlations using GSAS fundus photographs between retinal vessels and 38 optic nerve head (ONH) morphologic parameters comprehensively. In all 240 eyes, the mean central retinal arteriolar equivalent (CRAE) and central retinal venular equivalent (CRVE) were 138.4 and 216.5 μm, respectively; the CRAE correlated with age, visual field scores and 19 ONH parameters and CRVE correlated with age, intraocular pressure, visual field scores and 11 ONH parameters. Among the different optic disc appearances including focal ischemia (FI) (n = 53, 22%), generalized enlargement (GE) (n = 53, 22%), myopic glaucoma (MY) (n = 112, 47%), and senile sclerosis (SS) (n = 22, 9%), the CRAE did not differ significantly; CRVE was significantly narrower in SS than in FI and MY. In FI, GE, MY, and SS disc types, CRAE correlated with 3, 14, 9, and 2 ONH parameters, respectively, and CRVE corelated with 9, 0, 12, and 6 ONH parameters, respectively. We confirmed previous observations on the effect of retinal vessel narrowing on glaucomatous changes in the ONH and visual field. The associations between retinal vessel caliber and ONH morphologic parameters vary among different optic disc appearances, suggesting different effects of vascular changes in each disc type.