Clinical Ophthalmology (Jun 2017)

Effect of age, sex, and refractive errors on central corneal thickness measured by Oculus Pentacam®

  • Hashmani N,
  • Hashmani S,
  • Hanfi AN,
  • Ayub M,
  • Saad CM,
  • Rajani H,
  • Muhammad MG,
  • Aziz M

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 11
pp. 1233 – 1238

Abstract

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Nauman Hashmani,1 Sharif Hashmani,1 Azfar N Hanfi,1 Misbah Ayub,2 Choudhry M Saad,2 Hina Rajani,2 Marium G Muhammad,2 Misbahul Aziz1 1Department of Ophthalmology, Hashmanis Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan; 2Dow Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan Background: Central corneal thickness (CCT) can be used to assess the corneal physiological condition as well as the pathological changes associated with ocular diseases. It has an influence on the measurement of intraocular pressure and is being used as a screening tool for refractive surgery candidates. The aim of this study was to determine the median CCT among normal Pakistani population and to correlate CCT with age, sex, and refractive errors.Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 5,171 healthy eyes in 2,598 patients who came to Hashmanis Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. The age of the patients ranged from 6 to 70 years. The refractive error was gauged by an auto-refractometer, and CCT was measured using Oculus Pentacam®.Results: The median CCT of our study was 541.0 µm with an interquartile range (IQR) of 44.0 µm. The median age was 26.0 years (IQR: 8.0). Median spherical equivalent (SE) of the patients was −4.3 D (IQR: 3.3) with the median sphere value as −4.0 D (IQR: 3.8). Lastly, the median cylinder was −1.0 D (IQR: 1.3). Age has a weak negative correlation with CCT (r=−0.058) and shows statistical significance (P<0.001). Additionally, males had thinner CCT readings than females (P=0.001). The cylinder values, on the other hand, had a significant (P=0.004) and positive correlation (r=0.154). Three values showed no significant correlation: sphere (P=0.100), SE (P=0.782), and the left or right eye (P=0.151).Conclusion: Among the Pakistani population, CCT was significantly affected by three variables: sex, age, and cylinder. No relationship of CCT was observed with the left or right eye, sphere, and SE. Keywords: refractive surgery, glaucoma, topography, sex, refractive errors, astigmatism

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