Choroidal Vascularity Index as a Potential Inflammatory Biomarker for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

ABSTRACT

Background

To evaluate choroidal vascularity index (CVI) and to investigate the association of CVI with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as an indicator of inflammation in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Material and Methods

This prospective study included newly diagnosed OCD patients and healthy controls. All patients underwent EDI-OCT imaging to assess the subfoveal choroidal thickness (sCT) and peripapillary CT (pCT). CVI was defined as the ratio of luminal area to stromal area after binarization on EDI–OCT images.

Results

A total of 39 patients with OCD and 25 controls were included. The sCT, pCT, and CVI values were significantly higher in the OCD vs. control group (p˂0.05 for all). The NLR values were significantly higher in the OCD vs. control group (p = .007). A significant positive correlation was noted between CVI and NLR (p = .039).

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that systemic inflammation may play a role in the pathogenesis of OCD.

KEYWORDS:

• Obsessive compulsive disorder
• inflammatory markers
• choroidal vascularity index
• choroidal thickness
• NLR

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.