You are here

Article Text

Article menu
Download PDFPDF
Clinical science
Change in the ophthalmoscopical optic disc size and shape in a 10-year follow-up: the Beijing Eye Study 2001–2011
  1. Jost B Jonas1,2,3,
  2. Qi Zhang1,4,
  3. Liang Xu1,
  4. Wen Bin Wei5,
  5. Rahul A Jonas6,
  6. Ya Xing Wang1
  1. 1 Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital University of Medical Science, Beijing Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Key Laboratory, Beijing, People's Republic of China
  2. 2 Department of Ophthalmology, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
  3. 3 Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland
  4. 4 Eye Center, The 2nd Affiliated Hospital, Medical College of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
  5. 5 Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Key Laboratory of Intraocular Tumor Diagnosis and Treatment, Beijing Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Key Lab, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
  6. 6 Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
  1. Correspondence to Dr Ya Xing Wang, Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology, Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; yaxingw{at}gmail.com

Abstract

Background To assess prevalence and associated factors of changes in the ophthalmoscopic optic disc size and shape.

Methods The case–control study included all highly myopic eyes (myopic refractive error ≤−6.0 diopters) and a randomly selected group of non-highly myopic eyes, examined in the population-based Beijing Eye Study 2001 and 2011.

Results The study included 89 highly myopic eyes (age:65.0±9.8 years) and 86 non-highly myopic eyes. Reduction in ophthalmoscopic disc size (prevalence, high myopia: 30 (33.7%) eyes; non-high myopia: 7 (8.1%) eyes) was associated with non-circular gamma zone enlargement (OR: 19.4; 95% CI: 6.7 to 56.6; p<0.001) and disc-fovea line elongation (OR: 2.80;95% CI: 1.12 to 6.98; p=0.03). Disc size reduction was correlated with a disc diameter shortening in direction of the widest gamma zone enlargement (correlation coefficient r=34; p=0.01). The perpendicular disc diameter remained mostly unchanged, resulting in an ovalisation of the ophthalmoscopic disc shape. Enlargement of the ophthalmoscopic disc size (prevalence, high myopia: 22 (24.7%) eyes; non-high myopia: 4 (4.7%) eyes) was associated with circular gamma zone enlargement (4.99; 95% CI: 1.95 to 12.8; p=0.001) and high myopia (OR: 4.29; 95% CI: 1.34 to 13.8; p=0.01).

Conclusions Myopic axial elongation may lead first to a Bruch’s membrane (BM) opening (BMO) shift into the foveal direction leading to BM overhanging into the nasal intrapapillary compartment, development and enlargement of gamma zone at the temporal disc side, reduction in the ophthalmoscopically visible disc area and ovalisation of the ophthalmoscopic disc shape. In a second step, an axial elongation-associated BMO enlargement may lead to a circular gamma zone increase and, due to the retraction of BM at the nasal disc border, to an enlargement of the ophthalmoscopically visible optic disc.

  • optic nerve

Data availability statement

Data are available on reasonable request. Data are available upon reasonable request.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjophthalmol-2021-319632

Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

    Data availability statement

    Data are available on reasonable request. Data are available upon reasonable request.

    View Full Text

    Footnotes

    • Contributors Design: JBJ, QZ, LX, WW, RAJ and YXW; Measurements: JBJ, QZ, LX, WW, RAJ and YXW; statistical analysis: JBJ, RAJ and YXW; first manuscript draft: JBJ and RAJ; approval of final draft: JBJ, QZ, LX, WW, RAJ and YXW;

    • Funding National Natural Science Foundation of China (#81570835); Beijing Municipal of Health Reform and Development Project (#2019-4).

    • Competing interests JBJ and RAJ: European patent application 16 720 043.5 and US patent application US 2019 0085065 A1: Agents for use in the therapeutic or prophylactic treatment of myopia or hyperopia). JBJ: Advisory Board Novartis; Patent holder with Biocompatibles UK. (Farnham, Surrey, UK) (Title: Treatment of eye diseases using encapsulated cells encoding and secreting neuroprotective factor and/or anti-angiogenic factor; Patent number: 20120263794), Patent application: Agents for the use in the therapeutic or prophylactic treatment of retinal pigment epithelium-associated diseases.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    Linked Articles

    • Highlights from this issue
      At a glance
      Frank Larkin
      British Journal of Ophthalmology 2023; 107 i-ii Published Online First: 20 Jan 2023. doi: 10.1136/bjo-2022-323107