To measure the choroidal thickness (CT) after dynamic exercise by using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT).
A total of 19 healthy participants performed 10 min of low-impact, moderate-intensity exercise (i.e., riding a bicycle ergometer) and were examined with EDI-OCT. Each participant was scanned before exercise and afterward at 5 min and 15 min. CT measurement was taken at the fovea and 1000 μ away from the fovea in the nasal, temporal, superior, and inferior regions. Retinal thickness, intraocular pressure, ocular perfusion pressure (OPP), heart rate, and mean blood pressure (mBP) were also measured.
A significant increase occurred in OPP and mBP at 5 min and 15 min following exercise ( P ˂ 0.05). The mean subfoveal CT at baseline was 344.00 ± 64.71 μm compared to 370.63 ± 66.87 μm at 5 min and 345.31 ± 63.58 μm at 15 min after exercise. CT measurements at all locations significantly increased at 5 min following exercise compared to the baseline ( P ˂ 0.001), while measurements at 15 min following exercise did not significant differ compared to the baseline ( P ˃ 0.05). There was no significant difference in retinal thickness at any location before and at 5 min and 15 min following exercise ( P ˃ 0.05).