Choroidal thickness postural changes in healthy young adults

The purpose of this study was to evaluate choroidal thickness (ChT) postural changes between sitting and standing position in healthy young adults. 100 patients, 56 males and 44 females (mean age 26,8 ± 2 years) underwent a complete eye examination, including ChT, axial length (AL) and IOP measurements. ChT measurement was performed in sitting and standing positions. In OD, mean subfoveal ChT was 279 μm ± 96 μm in sitting position and 267 μm ± 94 μm in standing position (p < 0.001); mean nasal ChT was 224 μm ± 88 μm in sitting position and 214 μm ± 88 μm in standing position (p < 0.001); mean temporal ChT was 287 ± 84 μm in sitting position and 275 μm ± 82 μm in standing position (p < 0.001). We demonstrated that, when subjects change their position from sitting to standing, a thinning in ChT is detected. The physiology behind the described variations is still incompletely understood and may be tied to the activation of the baroreceptor reflex caused by postural changes. More studies should be performed to prove the usefulness of ChT variation as a biomarker in autonomic nervous system (ANS) diseases, such as Multiple system atrophy (MSA) and Parkinson's disease (PD).