The Association between Macular Structure and Idiopathic Epiretinal Membrane
AbstractPurposeThis study measured the anatomical characteristics of the macula in fellow eyes of patients with unilateral idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM) and compared them with normal control.DesignA retrospective observational study.ParticipantsA total of of 94 fellow eyes with unilateral idiopathic ERM were gathered as the study group, and their age and gender-matched subjects with no vitreomacular diseases were recruited as the control group.MethodsMacular structure parameters including foveal base width (FBW), central foveolar thickness (CFT), central subfield thickness (CST), area of foveal avascular zone (FAZ), and retinal artery trajectory (RAT) were measured using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography and were compared between two groups.Main outcome measuresMacular structure parameters were compared between the two groups. A wide-based foveal pit was defined as a FBW larger than the mean value plus one standard deviation of the normal population. Regression analysis was performed to evaluate factors that affect FBW.ResultsAmong the 94 fellow eyes of unilateral ERM; 71 eyes (75.5%) had a wide-based foveal pit. Both their FBW (418.9 ± 68.7 µm) and area of FAZ (0.38 ± 0.12 mm2) were significantly larger than those in the control group (323.2 ± 74.3 µm and 0.31± 0.17 mm2; p < 0.001 and p = 0.02, respectively), and they also had a thinner CFT and CST, and a wider RAT than the control group (p < 0.05 for all). In the control group, females had a wider FBW, a thinner CFT and CST, and a wider RAT than males (p < 0.05 for all). Regression analysis showed that female, a thinner CST and a larger FAZ were all associated with a larger FBW.ConclusionFellow eyes of the unilateral ERM had a larger FBW and FAZ, a thinner CFT and CST, and a wider RAT than the normal population. This implicates that centrifugal macular traction may result in the formation of idiopathic ERM. Females had a wider FBW, a thinner CST, and a wider RAT than males, which may explain the higher prevalence of idiopathic ERM in females.