Association between chromatic sensitivity and peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer thickness in healthy eyes

Abstract

Purpose: Knowledge of the retinal structure—chromatic sensitivity relationship of healthy eyes would be important for early detection of retinal neuropathies such as glaucoma. This study investigated the association between colour vision thresholds and the thicknesses of the retina in healthy young eyes.Methods: Measurements were made in 56 healthy eyes of 56 young subjects of mean age 25 ± 2.4 years (range 20–31 years), and distance visual acuity ≤0.1 logMAR. Chromatic sensitivity was measured using the Color Assessment and Diagnosis (CAD) test. The macular thicknesses of the central fovea, parafovea, and macular ganglion cell complex (mGCC), and the thickness of the peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (pRNFL) were measured by spectral‐domain optical coherence tomography (SD‐OCT). Relationships between red‐green (RG) and yellow‐blue (YB) thresholds and the retinal thicknesses were examined through Spearman correlation.Results: Significant correlations were detected between pRNFL thickness, in the inferior hemisphere, and the RG and YB‐thresholds (r = −0.30, p = 0.03 and r = −0.31, p = 0.02; respectively). Decreased pRNFL thickness correlated with worse colour thresholds. No significant correlations were found between macular thicknesses and colour thresholds.Conclusions: Greater inferior pRNFL thickness was related to better chromatic sensitivity in healthy eyes of young subjects.