Relationship between visual field sensitivity and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness as measured by scanning laser polarimetry

PURPOSE. To evaluate the strength and pattern of the relationship between visual field (VF) sensitivity and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measurements by scanning laser polarimetry (SLP). METHODS. Fifty-four eyes of 54 normal subjects (age, 42 +/- 15 years; VF mean deviation [MD], -0.69 +/- 1.01 dB) and 51 eyes of 51 glaucoma patients (age, 66 +/- 14 years; VF MD, -6.92 +/- 5.43 dB) were imaged with an SLP using fixed corneal compensation (FCC) and variable corneal compensation (VCC). VF sensitivity was recorded in the dB and the 1/L scales. Linear and logarithmic relationships were sought globally and in six VF sectors. Relationships of VF and RNFL, thickness with age were sought in normal subjects. RESULTS. Both VF sensitivity and RNFL thickness declined with age (as determined by the regression slope): -0.13% (P = 0.0005) and -0.64% (P = 0.0001) per year for dB and 1/L VF sensitivity, respectively, and -0.25% (P = 0.003) per year for VCC RNFL thickness. FCC RNFL thickness was not statistically significantly related to age. The relationship of VF sensitivity to VCC global (R-2 = 0.49) and sectoral (R-2 = 0.00-0.47) RNFL thickness was greater than for FCC global (R-2 = 0.12) and sectoral(R-2 = 0.00-0.21) RNFL thickness. Relationships were curvilinear with the dB scale, with logarithmic regression of dB VF sensitivity against RNFL thickness being significantly better than linear regression. Logarithmic regression of 1/L VF sensitivity against RNFL thickness was no better than linear regression for all sectors. There was no relationship between VF sensitivity and RNFL thickness in the temporal peripapillary RNFL sector. CONCLUSIONS. The strength of the structure/function relationships compare well with previous reports in the literature. The relationships were curvilinear with the dB scale and linear with the 1/L scale, and were much stronger with VCC than with FCC RNFL thickness measurements.