Relationship between nerve fiber layer defect and the presence of epiretinal membrane in a Japanese population: The JPHC-NEXT Eye Study

Atsuro Uchida,Mariko Sasaki,Kazuo Tsubota,Kazumasa Yamagishi,Ryo Kawasaki,Shoichiro Tsugane,Norie Sawada,Toshihide Kurihara,Yoko Ozawa,Hiroyasu Iso,Kenya Yuki,Yohei Tomita,Kaoru Motomura,Akiko Hanyuda

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-57260-7

Abstract

The study subjects were residents of Chikusei city, Japan, aged 40 years or older who attended annual health check-up programs and participated in the JPHC-NEXT Eye Study which performed non-mydriatic fundus photography of both eyes. The relationship of glaucomatous fundus changes such as optic disc cupping (cup to disc ratio ≥ 0.7) and retinal nerve fiber layer defect (NFLD) with the presence of epiretinal membrane (ERM) were examined cross-sectionally. A total of 1990 persons gave consent to participate in this study in 2013. The overall prevalence of ERM was 12.9%. Of these, 1755 had fundus photographs of sufficient quality and no history of intraocular surgery (mean age: 62.3 ± 10.0 years). After adjusting for age, sex and refractive error, NFLD was positively associated with the presence of ERM (odds ratio [OR]: 2.48; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.24, 4.96; P = 0.010), but optic disc cupping was not (OR: 1.33; CI: 0.71, 2.48; P = 0.37). The results did not necessarily suggest an association between glaucoma and ERM, but indicated an association between NFLD and ERM.

Highlights

Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease with progressive retinal ganglion cell loss, optic nerve damage, and corresponding visual field loss[13]
Several population-based studies have investigated the association between optic disc cupping, one of glaucomatous fundus changes and the presence of epiretinal membrane (ERM), and found no association[7,19,20]
We investigated whether glaucomatous fundus changes such as optic disc cupping and nerve fiber layer defect (NFLD) were associated with the presence of any ERM in a Japanese population

Summary

Introduction

Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease with progressive retinal ganglion cell loss, optic nerve damage, and corresponding visual field loss[13]. It is the second leading cause of blindness globally, and early intervention is essential to reduce irreversible vision loss[14]. No study has investigated the relationship between NFLD, another glaucomatous change, and the presence of ERM If this relationship is shown, it would suggest a potential link between the pathologies of glaucoma and ERM and contribute to our understanding of the pathological mechanisms of both diseases. We aimed to examine the relationship between glaucomatous fundus changes such as optic disc cupping and NFLD and the presence of ERM to elucidate a potential link under a population-based cross-sectional study

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Results

Conclusion