A Prospective Cross-sectional Study to Evaluate retina developing via OCTA based on school students in Qamdo, Tibet, China

Abstract Aims To estimate the microstructure in different ages school students using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in Qamdo. Design A prospective cross-sectional, school-based research. Methods This study includes 347 normal students from 9 schools in 4 different areas in Qamdo. Macular region 3×3 area and macular cube 512×128 showed details in macular by OCTA images. Using ETDRS Vessel Flow Density module measure Central vascular plexus density (CVD), Inner vascular plexus density (IVD), Full vascular plexus density (FVD) or the size of foveal avascular zone (FAZ). These differences were compared among various ages, sexes and living environments. Result The mean FAZ area in all eyes was 0.29 ± 0.13 mm2. The Mean Foveal Thickness in the macular cube (MFT) was 239.81 ± 19.13 µm. It did not show a significant relationship between FAZ areas and sex (p = 0.011), age (p = 0.1736) or others (MFT, altitude). Compared with girls, boys had a lager MFT (p < 0.001). Among the different age groups, MFT (p < 0.001) and FVD (p < 0.001), IVD (p < 0.001) increased with age. Conclusion OCT-A can use to evaluate macular perfusion in children. Our data bridge the gap between structural OCT and perfusion density in children in high altitude. Even though not a longitudinal study, it also provides us some information about retina developing in teenagers OCTA’s clinical implications.