Acute Effects of Caffeine on Choroidal Structure and Vascularity in Healthy Young Adults: A Time-Resolved OCT and OCT-Angiography Study
- 1Eye Unit, “Luigi Curto” Hospital, Azienda Sanitaria Locale Salerno, 84035 Polla, Italy
- 2Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry “Scuola Medica Salernitana”, University of Salerno, 84081 Baronissi, Italy
- 3The Korean Institute of Nutrition, Hallym University, 1 Hallymdeahak-Gil, Chuncheon 24252, Republic of Korea
Abstract
Background: Caffeine, the most widely consumed dietary bioactive compound worldwide, exerts acute vasoactive effects on several vascular beds, but its impact on the internal composition of the choroid remains unclear. We evaluated the acute effects of a single oral dose of caffeine on choroidal structure and vascularity, retinal superficial capillary plexus (SCP) microcirculation, optic nerve head (ONH) perfusion, and intraocular pressure (IOP) in healthy young adults. Methods: In this prospective, single-arm observational study without a control group, 46 healthy adults were examined at baseline and 30 and 60 min after ingesting 200 mg of caffeine. Subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT), total, luminal and stromal choroidal areas, and the choroidal vascularity index (CVI) were derived from EDI-OCT with Niblack binarization. SCP vessel density and perfusion, ONH perfusion and flow index, and IOP were also recorded. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA. Results: SCT decreased progressively from 356.0 ± 84.2 µm to 325.9 ± 81.0 µm at 60 min (p < 0.001; η2p = 0.61). Luminal and stromal areas declined in parallel (r = 0.919, p < 0.001), with only a minimal change in CVI (p = 0.003). IOP decreased modestly (p = 0.009), whereas SCP and ONH parameters showed no significant changes. The response was independent of sex and axial length. Conclusions: A single dose of caffeine was associated with acute, progressive choroidal thinning, paralleled by a near-proportional constriction of the luminal and stromal compartments, with no significant short-term change detected in the retinal and optic nerve head circulations, consistent with an adenosine-mediated vasoconstrictive mechanism.
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BibTeX
@article{daniello2026acute,
title = {{Acute Effects of Caffeine on Choroidal Structure and Vascularity in Healthy Young Adults: A Time-Resolved OCT and OCT-Angiography Study}},
author = {Eleonora D’Aniello and Livio Vitiello and Maddalena De Bernardo and Deokho Lee and Ilaria De Pascale and Gerardo La Padula and Stefano Gallo and Alfonso Pellegrino and Nicola Rosa},
journal = {Nutrients},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/nu18203426},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/20/3426},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Acute Effects of Caffeine on Choroidal Structure and Vascularity in Healthy Young Adults: A Time-Resolved OCT and OCT-Angiography Study
AU - Eleonora D’Aniello
AU - Livio Vitiello
AU - Maddalena De Bernardo
AU - Deokho Lee
AU - Ilaria De Pascale
AU - Gerardo La Padula
AU - Stefano Gallo
AU - Alfonso Pellegrino
AU - Nicola Rosa
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Nutrients
DO - 10.3390/nu18203426
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/18/20/3426
AB - Background: Caffeine, the most widely consumed dietary bioactive compound worldwide, exerts acute vasoactive effects on several vascular beds, but its impact on the internal composition of the choroid remains unclear. We evaluated the acute effects of a single oral dose of caffeine on choroidal structure and vascularity, retinal superficial capillary plexus (SCP) microcirculation, optic nerve head (ONH) perfusion, and intraocular pressure (IOP) in healthy young adults. Methods: In this prospective, single-arm observational study without a control group, 46 healthy adults were examined at baseline and 30 and 60 min after ingesting 200 mg of caffeine. Subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT), total, luminal and stromal choroidal areas, and the choroidal vascularity index (CVI) were derived from EDI-OCT with Niblack binarization. SCP vessel density and perfusion, ONH perfusion and flow index, and IOP were also recorded. Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA. Results: SCT decreased progressively from 356.0 ± 84.2 µm to 325.9 ± 81.0 µm at 60 min (p < 0.001; η2p = 0.61). Luminal and stromal areas declined in parallel (r = 0.919, p < 0.001), with only a minimal change in CVI (p = 0.003). IOP decreased modestly (p = 0.009), whereas SCP and ONH parameters showed no significant changes. The response was independent of sex and axial length. Conclusions: A single dose of caffeine was associated with acute, progressive choroidal thinning, paralleled by a near-proportional constriction of the luminal and stromal compartments, with no significant short-term change detected in the retinal and optic nerve head circulations, consistent with an adenosine-mediated vasoconstrictive mechanism.
SN - 2072-6643
ER -