Comparison of the Morphology of the Foveal Pit Between African and Caucasian Populations

Zouache, Moussa A.; Silvestri, Giuliana; Amoaku, Winfried M.; Silvestri, Vittorio; Hubbard, William C.; Pappas, Christian; Akafo, Stephen; Lartey, Seth; Mastey, Rebecca R.; Carroll, Joseph; Hageman, Gregory S.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to characterize foveal pit morphology in an African (Ghanaian) population, to compare it to that of a Caucasian group and to determine if it varied with age in the two populations.

Methods: The depth, diameter, slope, and volume of the foveal pit were interpolated from optical coherence tomography volume scans recorded in 84 Ghanaian and 37 Caucasian individuals. Their association with age, sex, and ethnicity was investigated using multilevel regression models.

Results: The foveal pit differed significantly in width, slope, and volume between Ghanaian men and women (P < 0.001), but only in width and volume between Caucasian men and women (P < 0.01). In Ghanaians, age was associated with a narrowing of the foveal depression and a reduction of its volume. Overall, these changes were more pronounced in women as compared to men and were largely absent from the Caucasian group. When controlled for age, the foveal pit of Ghanaians was significantly wider and larger in volume as compared to the Caucasian group (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: The morphology of the foveal pit differs between African and Caucasian individuals. These anatomic differences should be considered when examining differences in prevalence and clinical features of vitreoretinal disorders involving the fovea between the two populations.

Translational Relevance: Differences in retinal anatomy may partly explain variations in the prevalence and clinical features of retinal diseases between African and Caucasian. Such differences should be adequately considered in diagnoses and monitoring of ocular diseases in patients with African ancestry.

Citation

Zouache, M. A., Silvestri, G., Amoaku, W. M., Silvestri, V., Hubbard, W. C., Pappas, C., …Hageman, G. S. (2020). Comparison of the Morphology of the Foveal Pit Between African and Caucasian Populations. Translational Vision Science & Technology, 9(5), Article 24. https://doi.org/10.1167/tvst.9.5.24

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 24, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Apr 28, 2020
• Publication Date: Apr 28, 2020
• Deposit Date: May 7, 2020
• Journal: Translational Vision Science & Technology
• Publisher: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 5
• Article Number: 24
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1167/tvst.9.5.24
• Keywords: retina;fovea;macula; opticalcoherencetomography; anatomy
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4388012
• Publisher URL: https://tvst.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2765461
• Additional Information: Zouache MA, Silvestri G, Amoaku WM ,SilvestriV, Hubbard WC, Pappas C, Akafo S, Lartey S, Mastey RR, Carroll J, Hageman GS. Comparison of the morphology of the foveal pit between African and Caucasian populations. TransVisSci Tech. 2020 ; 9 (5) : 24