Abstract
PURPOSE: To evaluate the characteristics of geographic atrophy (GA) in the Korean population and investigate the factors associated with visual acuity. METHODS: Patients with complete retinal pigment epithelium and outer retinal atrophy were considered to have GA. The characteristics of GA, including lesion type (monofocal or multifocal), total lesion size, foveal involvement, best-corrected visual acuity, and subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT), were evaluated. The incidence of pachychoroid GA and factors associated with better visual acuity (≥ 20/40) were also determined. RESULTS: This study included 104 eyes of 68 patients with a mean age of 77.6 ± 7.0 years. Bilateral GA was detected in 52.9% of patients. Monofocal and multifocal lesions were observed in 49% and 51% of the eyes, respectively. The mean lesion size was 9.9 ± 8.9 mm². Foveal involvement was observed in 41.3% of eyes. The mean SCT was 154.6 ± 90.1 μm, and pachychoroid GA was detected in 7.7% of eyes. Greater central retinal thickness and the absence of foveal involvement were associated with better visual acuity. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of bilateral GA and larger lesions were higher while the prevalence of pachychoroid GA was lower among our patients than among those included in previous studies involving East Asian populations. This study highlights the diverse characteristics of GA in Koreans and suggests that patients with GA characteristics comparable to those observed in Western populations may be frequently encountered depending on the center.