Retinal Nerve Fibre Layer Thickness, Maküler Thickness and Macular Volume in Children With Intellectual Disability.

OBJECTIVE

It was aimed to investigate retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness, macular thickness and macular volume and the relationship between these parameters and the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-R) in children with intellectual disability (ID).

METHODS

The study included 41 (27 male and 14 female) patients of ages 7-18 who were diagnosed with ID and 41 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals (24 male and 17 female). WISC-R intelligence test was applied with all the participants, and the parents were asked to fill out a Sociodemographic Data Form and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The RNFL, macular thickness and macular volume were examined by optical coherence tomography (OCT).

RESULTS

The RNFL was lower in all the quadrants (nasal, temporal, superior and inferior) in the patient group, but this thinness was not statistically significant in comparison to the control group. The left eye central macular and lest eye mean macular thicknesses were significantly lower in the patient group (respectively, p = 0.030, p = 0.048). Though not statistically significant, other all macular thickness and volume values were lower in the patient group in comparison to the control group. In the patient group, a weak negative correlation was observed between the performance subscore of the WISC-R and the RNFL values of the right eye inferior quadrant, as well as the left eye inferior and temporal quadrants (respectively, r = -0.329, p = 0.036; r = -0.308, p = 0.050; r = -0.309, p = 0.050). Additionally, a weak negative correlation was found between the total WISC-R scores and the RNFL values of the left eye temporal quadrant (r = -0.318, p = 0.043).

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that macular thickness are reduced in ID patients but show no statistically significant changes in the RNFL. Lower macular thickness may potentially be linked to the brain abnormalities seen in ID, given the shared developmental origin of the retina and central nervous system. Further studies are needed to determine the potential application of OCT as a tool for diagnosing and monitoring the progression of this disease.