Analysis of Retinal Vessel Density and Macular Flow Area in Diabetic and Healthy Participants Using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

Abstract

Purpose: To inspect the macular flow area, superficial and deep retinal vessel density measurements of optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography (OCTA) in diabetic patients and healthy subjects. Methods: This retrospectively reviewed, and the cross-sectional study included 64 right eyes of 64 diabetic patients (Diabetic group) and 60 right eyes of 60 healthy (Control group) subjects. The diabetic group included two subgroups of patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) and patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR). The groups and subgroups were compared in terms of the best- corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure and OCT/OCTA measurements, including central macular thickness (CMT, um), macular flow area (mm2), foveal and parafoveal vessel density (VD, %) in the superficial and deep retinal layers. Results: The mean values of BCVA and CMT were 0.42±0.32 and 0.86±0.17 (p