To measure the lamina cribrosa thickness (LCT) in vivo of healthy people and to determine any association between the LCT and age or sex.

We evaluated 100 eyes of 100 healthy volunteers. Forty eyes were selected and divided into 2 specific age groups (38-49 and 78-89 years) and the differences were assessed with respect to age and sex. Each participant underwent a complete eye examination and the LCT was evaluated with spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) using enhanced depth imaging (EDI) mode.

Eighty-seven eyes were considered for the measurement and analysis of the LCT and 13 eyes were excluded because of an unclear image for identifying the LCT. The mean age was 55.0 ± 19.5 years. The mean LCT in healthy volunteers was 231.3 ± 41.6 µm (range, 152.5 - 327.5 µm) and a negative relationship was found between LCT and age (LCT = -1.614 × age + 320.191 µm, 95% CI for slope -1.91 to -1.32, r² = 0.572, p < 0.001). Regarding differences related to sex, males had relatively thicker LCT than females, irrespective of age, although not statistically significant ( p = 0.623).

The present study results showed a decrease in human LCT with increasing age. Therefore, a decreasing LCT with an increasing age could be considered a strong risk factor for the development of glaucoma. In addition, measuring the LCT may help to understand the disease prognosis.