Effects of physical exercise on macular vessel density and choroidal thickness in children

We used swept-source (SS) optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA) to investigate the effects of moderate physical exercise on retinal and choroidal vessel densities (VDs) and thicknesses in children. One eye in each of 40 myopic children (mean age, 11.70 years) and 18 emmetropic children (mean age, 11.06 years) were included. SS-OCT 6x6-mm radial scans and SS-OCTA 3x3-mm images were centered on the macula. Heart rate (HR), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and intraocular pressure (IOP) were recorded before and immediately after a 20-min stationary cycling exercise and after a 30-min rest. The subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT), choroidal thickness (CT), and VD at the superficial and deep retinal layers, choriocapillaris, and deeper choroidal vessels were determined. SFCT and CT were significantly lower at all locations immediately after exercise (p<0.001) and did not fully recover after rest (p<0.05). VD was lower in the deep retinal layer after exercise (p=0.02) and higher in the superficial layer after rest (p=0.03) in myopic eyes while it was higher in the superficial (p<0.01) and deep layer (p<0.01) after rest in emmetropic eyes. No significant exercise-related changes in the superficial retinal VD, choroidal VD, or IOP were observed. Delta CT% and Delta SFCT% were significantly correlated with increases in HR in myopic group (p=0.04 and p=0.03, respectively). Exercise increased retinal VD after rest in emmetropic eyes, and caused significant CT thinning that lasted for at least 30 min in both emmetropic and myopic eyes.

Automated summary

This study utilized SS-OCT and OCTA to explore the impact of moderate physical exercise on retinal and choroidal vessel densities and thicknesses in children. The results demonstrated distinct changes in vessel densities and thicknesses post-exercise in myopic and emmetropic eyes, with differences observed in the deep retinal layer and after rest.