Racial Differences in Choroidal Vascularity Index in Healthy Patients: Novel Insights

Abstract

Background and Objective: Choroidal vascularity index (CVI) measures the ratio of blood vessels in the choroid to the total choroidal area. We aimed to compare CVI between young Black and White patients without a history of ocular or systemic disease. Patients and Methods: We used a previously validated algorithm for shadow compensation and choroidal vessel binarization to measure CVI across the Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study grid. Results: Black patients had a lower CVI ( ß = −0.05, P < 0.001) compared to White patients. Choroidal volume or luminal volume did not significantly differ with respect to race, whereas there was a trend for Black patients to have a greater stromal volume ( ß = 3.08, P = 0.01). Conclusions: Black patients have a lower CVI than do White patients, likely due to a greater proportion of stromal volume. Further study of this parameter is warranted to validate the findings of this exploratory study. [ Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina 2024;55:30–38.]