Gender, age important factors in ocular blood flow

Pulsatile ocular blood flow is affected by both age and gender, according to a European study.

Orna Geyer and colleagues separated 107 men and 152 women into younger (between the ages of 40 and 50) and older (aged 50 to 60) groups. None of the participants was affected by ocular disease.

Younger women had significantly different pulsatile ocular blood flow than their older counterparts, as well as from men in either age group. The mean pulsatile ocular blood flow for the two male groups and the older female group did not differ significantly. The younger women had slightly higher pulse rates than participants in either older group, but the difference was not significant. Ocular blood flow was not associated with either pulse rate or refraction.

The study is published in the August issue of Ophthalmic Research.