Abstract
Potential differences in the nature of the influences of aging and gender on the optic nerve head (ONH) microcirculation, using laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG) were evaluated. We studied 908 healthy subjects (men = 701, age: 50.0 ± 9.1 yrs, women = 208, 49.8 ± 9.5 yrs, p = 0.76). The average, maximum (Max), and minimum (Min) mean blur rate (MBR) in a heartbeat were evaluated. The parameters were analyzed separately for the tissue, vessels, and throughout the ONH (All). We investigated which MBR sections are correlated with gender and age by univariate and multivariate regression analyses. The Max MBR-All (r = −0.31) was most strongly correlated with gender (men = 1, women = 0). The Min MBR-All (r = −0.24) was most strongly correlated with age, followed by Min MBR-All (r = −0.20). The factors contributing independently to the Max MBR-All were gender (β = −0.15), pulse pressure, spherical refraction, ocular perfusion pressure, and red blood cell (RBC) count. The factors contributing independently to the Min MBR-Vessel were gender (β = −0.09), age (β = −0.25), body mass index, heart rate, and spherical refraction. The factors contributing independently to the Min-MBR-All were age (β = −0.22), heart rate, and RBC count. Our results revealed that gender differences influence the Max MBR, and aging influences the Min MBR. These correlations were stronger than that of average MBR.
Highlights
Potential differences in the nature of the influences of aging and gender on the optic nerve head (ONH) microcirculation, using laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG) were evaluated
The results demonstrated that the factors contributing independently to the Max mean blur rate (MBR)-All (R = 0.40, p < 0.0001) were gender, pulse pressure (β = 0.13, p < 0.0001), spherical refraction (β = 0.08, p < 0.05), OPP
Our previous study revealed that the average MBR-Tissue and average MBR-All values obtained by a morning evaluation in patients with coronary artery disease were significantly lower than those of patients without coronary artery disease[11]
Summary
Potential differences in the nature of the influences of aging and gender on the optic nerve head (ONH) microcirculation, using laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG) were evaluated. The average, maximum (Max), and minimum (Min) mean blur rate (MBR) in a heartbeat were evaluated. Our results revealed that gender differences influence the Max MBR, and aging influences the Min MBR These correlations were stronger than that of average MBR. LSFG is dependent on the movement of erythrocytes in the retina, the choroid, and the optic nerve head (ONH), and the mean blur rate (MBR) is an indicator of ocular blood flow[4,5]. The influences of gender differences, aging, and other factors on the max., min., and average MBR in the ONH have not been established. We conducted the present study to clarify the influences of gender differences and aging on the max., min., and average values of the MBR parts in the ONH by examining a large number of healthy subjects
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