To investigate retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness using swept source (SS)-optical coherence tomography (OCT) in healthy Koreans and to evaluate the effects of age on the distributional variability of thickness.

We performed a retrospective review of 309 normal eyes presenting for examination of peripapillary nerve fiber layer thickness measured by SS-OCT (DRI OCT-1, Atlantis SS-OCT, Topcon, Tokyo, Japan) from July 2014 to February 2016. The patients were between the ages of 20 and 79 without systemic or ocular disease. The patients were divided into 3 age groups of 20 to 39 years (85 eyes), 40 to 59 years (140 eyes), and 60 to 79 years (84 eyes). The groups were matched based on average RNFL thickness and quadrant and 12 o'clock position RNFL thickness.

The average RNFL thickness of the inferior quadrant was the thickest of the layers and revealed a bimodal distribution. In the three groups, the thicknesses of the average RNFL, quadrant, and 12 o'clock RNFL decreased with age. There was significant difference in the measurements ( p < 0.05) of quadrant RNFL thickness except that in the nasal quadrant ( p = 0.068).

The thickness of the circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer measured by SS-OCT differs according to age and analysis of normal values by age can be useful in the diagnosis of disease.