COMPARISON OF CHOROIDAL AND RETINAL NERVE FIBER LAYERTHICKNESS IN SMOKERS AND NON SMOKERS.

Cigarette smoking has been regarded as a risk factor for the incidence of a wide variety of chronic illnesses. It has been associated with low blood velocity of the ophthalmic artery This study aimed to evaluate the effects of smoking on choroidal and RNFL thickness. The study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in rural area of Panipat for a period of 6 months from April 2023 to September 2023. It included 40 patients who were categorized into two equal groups. The smokers group included 20 smokers who practiced continuous smoking atleast 2 cigarettes/ bidis per day, atleast 5 days per week for 2 yrs. Controls included 20 healthy individuals, who were matched for their age with the study group participants. An inquiry about the habit of smoking in detail was done. OCT images were obtained for measurement of the subfoveal choroidal thickness (CT) and RNFL thickness. The RNFL thickness of all the four quadrants (superior, inferior, nasal and temporal) was recorded separately, as well as the overall average thickness. Inferior and Nasal RNFL thicknesses were 101.9 ± 31.231 and 77.8 ± 16.548 μm in the smokers group and 126.85 ± 26.738 μm and 98 ± 24.35 μm in the nonsmoker group, respectively. The differences were statistically signicant (p=0.0099, p=0.0040 respectively). Average RNFL Thickness was 87.5 ± 22.47 μm and subfoveal CT was 290.365 ± 36.404 μm in the smoker group, while these values were 102.45± 17.9 μm and 328.8015 ± 59.414 μm in the nonsmoker group, respectively. There were signicant differences in these comparisons (p=0.0254, p=0.0183, respectively). This could be associatedwith reduced blood ow to the choroid following smoking. Thus, we recommend a routine eye examination for smokers and encourage them to give up smoking.