CORRELATION OF THE PERIPAPILLARY ATROPHY AREA WITH OPTIC DISC CUPPINGAND DISC HEMORRHAGE

Purpose: To investigate the association of the peripapillary atrophy a rea with disc cupping area and disc hemorrhage in subjects who underwe nt ocular examination as part of a routine physical examination. Metho ds: We reviewed plain color fundus photographs taken of 12.140 eyes of 6,070 subjects as part of a routine health examination. The refractiv e error in these eyes was not known. Using a computerized image analys is system. we measured the area of peripapillary atrophy (zone beta, t he optic disc, and optic disc cupping by means of planimetry in 8,842 eyes of 4,421 subjects with fundus images of good quality. Results: Th e ratio of cup area to disc area was significantly greater in eyes wit h peripapillary atrophy (0.36 +/- 0.09) than in eyes without peripapil lary atrophy (0.34 +/- 0.07), and the ratio of peripapillary atrophy a rea to disc area was significantly greater in eyes with disc hemorrhag e (0.26 +/- 0.34) than in those without disc hemorrhage (0.09 +/- 0.18 ). Moreover, in eyes with peripapillary atrophy, the ratio of cup area to disc area was significantly larger in eyes with disc hemorrhage (0 .48 +/- 0.08) than in those without disc hemorrhage (0.36 +/- 9.09). T hese results remained statistically unchanged even after ''glaucomatou s'' eyes were excluded From the study. Conclusion: Peripapillary atrop hy appears to be associated with a higher degree of cupping of the opt ic disc and disc hemorrhage, and the results suggest an association be tween peripapillary atrophy and glaucomatous optic neuropathy.