Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background: Myopia is a major cause of visual impairment in the world, which is mostly caused by the axial elongement. The choroidal thinning is linked to progressive elongation, which puts the patient at risk of myopic macular complications. The measurement of the association between the axial length (AL) and the sub-foveal choroidal thickness (CT) can be considered a non-invasive biomarker to track the development of myopia and inform early treatment. Purpose: The aim of the study will be to establish the relationship between the axial length and the choroidal thickness of patients with myopia in Pakistani population. Methodology: The sample size (150 myopic patients aged 1840 years) was included in the cross-sectional study in the University of Lahore Teaching Hospital (Oct 2025 to Mar 2026). Patients with astigmatism of >−2.0 D, systemic or retinal/choroidal disease and past ocular surgery were excluded. Standard procedures were used to check the visual acuity, refraction, and anterior/posterior segment examination. Standard A-scan ultrasonography was used to measure axial length (AL), optical coherence tomography was used to measure sub-foveal choroidal thickness (CT). The analysis of data was performed in SPSS v26, whereby the mean and SD and frequency were reported, and Pearson’s correlation was used to determine the relationship between AL and CT with p 0.05 being accepted as significant. Results: The average AL was 24.13±1.93 mm (range 21.0 to 28.0 mm) and average CT were 284.78±57.94 mm (range 171.7 to 394.1 mm). The relationship between AL and CT was negative with the intensity of myopia. The most significant correlation was observed in the very high myopia group, in which a longer mean axial length (25.5 ± 2.2 mm) was correlated with a significantly thinner choroid (250.77 ± 62.11 µm) and had a strong negative correlation (r = -0.709, p = 0.007). Conclusion: The relationship between the axial length and the choroidal thickness was significantly negative in myopic patients, and the relationship became stronger as the severity of myopia increases. Increased axial length was always found to be in correlation with narrower choroids, especially in extreme hyperopia. These results emphasize the axial lengthening as one of the structural elements that lead to the thinning of the choroids in the myopia.
Source: Ophthalmology Pakistan
Institution: University of Lahore
Language: English
Subfield: Ophthalmology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7214224441