Lamina Cribrosa Configurations in Highly Myopic and Non-Highly Myopic Eyes: The Beijing Eye Study

PURPOSE. The purpose of this study was to examine characteristics of lamina cribrosa (LC) configuration in highly myopic (HM) eyes. METHODS. Participants from the Beijing Eye Study 2011, free of optic nerve or retinal diseases, were randomly selected to examine LC depth (LCD) and LC tilt (LCT) using three-dimensional optical coherent tomography images of the optic nerve head (ONH). LCD and LCT were measured as the distance and angle between the LC plane with two reference planes, including the Bruch's membrane opening (BMO) plane and the peripapillary sclera (PPS) plane, respectively. Each parameter was measured in both horizontal and vertical B-scans. RESULTS. The study included 685 individuals (685 eyes) aged 59.6 +/- 7.7 years, including 72 HM eyes and 613 non-HM eyes. LCD measurements showed no significant differences between HM eyes and non-HM eyes in both horizontal (LCD-BMO = 421.83 +/- 107.86 mu m for HM eyes vs. 447.24 +/- 104.94 mu m for non-HM eyes, P = 0.18; and LCD-PPS = 406.39 +/- 127.69 mu m vs. 394.00 +/- 101.64 mu m, P = 1.00) and vertical directions (LCD-BMO = 435.78 +/- 101.29 mu m vs. 450.97 +/- 106.54 mu m, P = 0.70; and LCD-PPS = 401.62 +/- 109.9 mu m vs. 379.85 +/- 110.35 mu m, P = 0.35). However, the LCT was significantly more negative (tilted) in HM eyes than in non-HM eyes horizontally (LCT-BMO = -4.38 +/- 5.94 degrees vs. -0.04 +/- 5.86 degrees, P < 0.001; and LCT-PPS = -3.16 +/- 5.23 degrees vs. -0.94 +/- 4.71 degrees, P = 0.003), but not vertically (P = 1.00). CONCLUSIONS. Although LCD did not differ significantly between HM and non-HM eyes, LCT was more negative in HM eyes, suggesting that the temporal or inferior side of the LC was closer to the reference plane. These findings provide insights into morphological and structural changes in the LC and ONH between HM and non-HM eyes.