Gloria George
Manipal University
India
Title: Central corneal thickness: A cross-sectional study over a normal Indian population
Biography
Biography: Gloria George
Abstract
To aim of the study was to assess the central corneal thickness and its implications over a cross section of a normal population in India based on the race, age, sex and intraocular pressure. The CCT of 300 eyes of 150 normal patients of different age groups, attending the OPD were measured with anterior segment OCT. IOP was measured using Goldmann Applanation Tonometry. The CCT was then compared with the patient's age, sex and IOP and its significance calculated. The central corneal thickness was seen to vary with various epidemiological parameters in a normal Indian population. The mean CCT was found to be 532.62 microns (±21.71). Males were found to have significantly thicker corneas (540.3±22.7) than females (524.6±17.3) and the average CCT decreased significantly with increasing age. The 16-30 age group had the highest mean CCT of 543.2 and the 61-75 age group had the lowest mean CCT of 515.6, the difference of which was significant (p<0.05). It was also found that in normal subjects who had thicker corneas, IOP was found to be higher with 0.4 mm of Hg increase in IOP for every 10 micron increase in CCT. The implications of these differences are tremendous in the increasing era of refractive surgeries as well as in the diagnosis of glaucoma. The variations in CCT based on various epidemiological parameters have been scarcely studied over an Indian population which could provide valuable information regarding the natural progression of physiological changes in the cornea.