Retinal Characteristics in Eyes with Pathologic Myopia among Individuals Self-Identifying As Black

Objective: Investigate retinal characteristics of pathologic myopia (PM) among patients self -identifying as Black. Design: Retrospective cohort single -institution retrospective medical record review. Methods: Adult patients between January 2005 and December 2014 with International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes consistent with PM and given 5 -year follow-up were evaluated. The Study Group consisted of patients self -identifying as Black, and the Comparison Group consisted of those not self -identifying as Black. Ocular features at study baseline and 5 -year follow-up visit were evaluated. Results: Among 428 patients with PM, 60 (14%) self -identified as Black and 18 (30%) had baseline and 5 -year follow-up visits. Of the remaining 368 patients, 63 were in the Comparison Group. For the study (n = 18) and Comparison Group (n =29), median (25th percentile, 75th percentile) baseline visual acuity was 20/40 (20/25, 20/50) and 20/32 (20/25, 20/50) in the better -seeing eye and 20/70 (20/50, 20/1400) and 20/100 (20/50, 20/200), respectively, in the worse -seeing eye. In the eyes that did not have choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in the study and Comparison Group, median study baseline optical coherence tomography central subfield thickness was 196 mu m (169, 306 mu m) and 225 mu m (191, 280 mu m), respectively, in the better -seeing eye and 208 mu m (181, 260 mu m) and 194 mu m (171, 248 mu m), respectively, in the worseseeing eye. Baseline prevalence of CNV was 1 Study Group eye (3%) and 20 Comparison Group eyes (34%). By the 5 -year visit, zero (0%) and 4 (15%) additional eyes had CNV in the study and Comparison Group, respectively. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the prevalence and incidence of CNV may be lower in patients with PM self -identifying as Black when compared with individuals of other races.