THICKNESSES OF CENTRAL MACULAR, RETINAL NERVE FIBER, AND GANGLION CELL INNER PLEXIFORM LAYERS IN PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSION.

PURPOSE: To compare retinal thickness between patients with chronic hypertension without retinopathy, hypertensive retinopathy, Keith-Wagener-Barker Grade IV status, and normal controls using spectral domain optical coherence tomography.

METHODS: In this retrospective study, we analyzed patients who visited our retinal clinic from January 2013 to February 2016. Of those included, 58 eyes of 58 patients were in the healthy control group (Group A), 37 eyes of 37 patients were in the chronic hypertension without retinopathy group (disease duration of at least 10 years; Group B), and 31 eyes of 31 patients with relieved hypertensive retinopathy (Grade IV hypertensive retinopathy a year or more ago but no longer had hypertensive retinopathy at the time of the study; Group C). The thicknesses of the central macula, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), and ganglion cell inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) were measured by spectral domain optical coherence tomography in each group.

RESULTS: The average thicknesses of the central macula, RNFL, and GCIPL layers were lower in Group B than in Group A (P < 0.001, 0.001, and <0.001, respectively). The thicknesses of the three layers were lower in Group C than in Group B (P < 0.001, <0.001, and <0.001, respectively). Of the three groups, the average thicknesses of the central macula, RNFL, and GCIPL were lowest in the Group C (P < 0.001, <0.001, and <0.001, respectively).

CONCLUSION: The central macula, RNFL, and GCIPL in Group B were significantly thinner than those of healthy eyes, and these retinal changes were more prominent in Group C. Thus, the effects of retinal changes associated with hypertension should be considered when analyzing the thicknesses of the central macular, RNFL, and GCIPL layers in patients with ocular disorders, including retinal, glaucoma, and neuro-ophthalmological diseases.