The following is a summary of “Retinal Layer and Choroidal Changes in Deep and Scuba Divers: Evidence of Pachychoroid Spectrum-Like Findings,” published in the November 2024 issue of Ophthalmology by Demir et al.  

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the long-term effects of deep and scuba diving on retinal layer thicknesses and retinal anatomy.  

They assessed 52 eyes from deep divers who dived beyond 130 feet (ft), 49 from scuba divers diving up to 130 feet, and 66 from the control group of nondiving males who exercised regularly. The measurements of macular retinal layer thicknesses, subfoveal choroidal thickness, peripapillary nerve fiber layer thickness, and peripheral retinal exams with scleral indentation were conducted and compared statistically across the groups.  

The results showed that the mean diving duration was 455.00 ± 318.88 hours for deep divers and 451.67 ± 281.10 hours for scuba divers. The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) was significantly thicker in deep divers compared to scuba divers and the control on the 3 mm ring of the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study grid. The Subfoveal choroidal thickness was notably thicker in deep divers than in scuba divers (P < 0.05), RPE abnormalities were significantly higher in both the deep and scuba diver groups (P = 0.01).  

Investigators concluded the long-term deep diving was associated with increased subfoveal choroid and RPE thickness, resembling pachychoroid pigment epitheliopathy. 

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1155/2024/1600148