Evaluation of macular and peripapillary vascular parameter change in healthy subjects after caffeine intake using optical coherence tomography angiography

• DOI: 10.4103/ijo.ijo_1989_21
• Publication Date: 2022-02-25T13:01:36Z
• Authors: Busra Yilmaz Tugan; Sevgi Subasi; Dilara Pirhan; Levent Karabas; Nursen Yuksel; Kubra Demirci Kucuk
• Keywords: foveal avascular zone vessel density; Special Focus, Retina, Original Article; superficial macular vessel density; Retinal Vessels; RE1-994; deep macular vessel density; Healthy Volunteers; 3. Good health; Ophthalmology; 03 medical and health sciences; 0302 clinical medicine; Caffeine; Humans; Prospective Studies; radial peripapillary capillary vessel density; Fluorescein Angiography; Tomography, Optical Coherence; caffeine

Purpose: To observe the effects of caffeine intake on vessel densities in macular and peripapillary regions and to analyze the correlations of vascular properties of these two interlinked regions in healthy volunteers using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

Methods: In this prospective randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled study, 120 participants were grouped into two groups: sixty subjects as a study group, which received caffeine and sixty subjects as a placebo group, which received a placebo. OCTA imaging was performed at baseline and 1 h after drug intake. Changes in macular and radial peripapillary capillary (RPC) vessel densities (VD) and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) parameters and correlation of these parameters were analyzed.

Results: Baseline macular and RPC VD and FAZ parameters showed no significant difference between study and placebo groups (P > 0.05 for all). VD parameters in all segments of superficial and deep macular regions and peripapillary region showed a statistically significant decrease after caffeine intake (P < 0.001 for all). All macular superficial VD parameters showed a positive correlation with deep perifovea VD (P < 0.05 for all). Also, superficial perifovea VD was positively correlated with all deep macular VD parameters except deep fovea VD (P < 0.05 for all).

Conclusion: We show that caffeine causes a decrease in macular and peripapillary vessel densities in healthy subjects, and correlations were observed between macular and peripapillary VD parameters. We believe that future studies are needed to support the effect of caffeine on peripapillary VD and the idea of using deep perifovea VD as the main parameter to estimate superficial macular parameters.