Relationship between Coronary Artery Calcification and Central Chorioretinal Thickness in Patients with Subclinical Atherosclerosis

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between coronary artery calcification and subfoveal thicknesses of individual chorioretinal layers in subjects with subclinical atherosclerosis by using enhanced-depth imaging optical coherence tomography. Methods: In this retrospective, noninterventional, cross-sectional study, we included 193 eyes from 193 subjects and divided them into three cardiovascular (CV) risk groups based on coronary artery calcification (CAC) scores calculated from cardiac-gated computed tomography: low (CAC = 0; n = 77), intermediate (CAC = 1-300; n = 83), and high (CAC >300; n = 33). Central macula individual retinal layer thicknesses and subfoveal choroidal thickness were measured and compared among groups. Multivariate linear regression was used to evaluate associations of subfoveal choroidal thickness or central retinal thickness with CAC scores. Results: Average subfoveal choroidal thickness differed significantly among low, intermediate, and high CV risk groups (all p < 0.05). There were no statistically significant changes in segmented retinal layer thickness of the central macula. Multivariate regression analyses showed that higher CAC scores were significantly negatively associated with subfoveal choroidal thickness (beta = -2.169, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Higher CAC scores were significantly associated with subfoveal choroidal thinning in subjects with subclinical atherosclerosis. Prominent reductions in the subfoveal choroidal layer could provide a useful biomarker for predicting CV risk in patients of advanced age with subclinical atherosclerosis.

Automated summary

The study found a significant negative association between coronary artery calcification and subfoveal choroidal thickness in subjects with subclinical atherosclerosis. This suggests that subfoveal choroidal thinning could potentially be a useful biomarker for predicting cardiovascular risk in older patients with subclinical atherosclerosis.