Optical coherence tomography angiography as a future diagnostic tool in sports medicine?

BACKGROUND: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) proved to be efficient for increasing health-related fitness in general and in patients with life style-induced chronic diseases. This study aimed to evaluate if (I) individual physical fitness and (II) a HIIT intervention affects optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) measurements at the ocular fundus of healthy young adults.

METHODS: A total of 65 healthy participants performed a standardized incremental running test to determine their physical fitness. This was defined as speed at the individual anaerobic threshold and maximum running speed followed by a 4-week HIIT with two exercise sessions/week. The OCTA measurements of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) and flow densities in various segments of the macula and optic nerve head were performed at rest before and after HIIT.

RESULTS: An inverse correlation between individual fitness and FAZ area was detected. No further correlations between individual physical fitness and other OCTA parameters were found. In response to HIIT the mean FAZ area in the deep retinal plexus and macular flow density of the superficial layer decreased by 14.00 ± 13.02% and 1.26 ± 3.20%, respectively. The flow density of the nerve head layer in the peripapillary area showed an increase of 1.94 ± 2.39%. All other parameters showed no differences between measurements before and after HIIT.

CONCLUSION: Differences were found in the OCTA measurements of the FAZ depending on the individual physical fitness. Performing HIIT can induce significant changes in certain OCTA parameters. Therefore, OCTA imaging appears to be a promising imaging modality in the field of sports medicine.