Medical Hypothesis, Discovery & Innovation in Optometry

Abstract

Background: To determine the normative data for photostress recovery time (PSRT) following light exposure of the macula, in various age groups within the Indian population.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study performed during November 2015 and July 2016 in the Bangalore district of Karnataka state in India. We examined a total of 1282 eyes of 641 participants and included those with corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) better or equal to 0.4 Logarithm of the Minimum Angle of Resolution (LogMAR). We performed the photostress procedure under the standard conditions using the same approach. Data was recorded and analyzed using parametric t-test. A two-sided p-value of <0.05 was statistically significant.

Results: The mean ± standard deviation (SD) of the participants’ age was 32.04 ± 15.80, with a range of 8 to 70 years. The PSRT in participants below 16 years and above 45 years of age were significantly different compared to the 16-25-year-old age group(p-values < 0.0001 for both).The PSRT values were significantly different between males and females in the reproductive age group (16 to 45 years old) (p-value<0.0001), but not in the other age groups. 

Conclusions: The photostress recovery values were significantly different in children and older patients compared to 16 to 25 years old ones. We found that as age increased, photostress recovery time increased significantly.