RESEARCH ARTICLE


Corneal Curvature, Anterior Chamber Depth, Lens Thickness, And Vitreous Chamber Depth: Their Intercorrelations With Refractive Error In Saudi Adults



Saif H. Alrasheed1, 2, *, Sulaiman Aldakhil1
1 Department of Optometry, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia
2 Department of Binocular Vision, Faculty of Optometry and Visual Sciences, Al-Neelain University, Khartoum, Sudan


Article Metrics

CrossRef Citations:
0
Total Statistics:

Full-Text HTML Views: 706
Abstract HTML Views: 309
PDF Downloads: 343
ePub Downloads: 178
Total Views/Downloads: 1536
Unique Statistics:

Full-Text HTML Views: 484
Abstract HTML Views: 227
PDF Downloads: 249
ePub Downloads: 142
Total Views/Downloads: 1102



Creative Commons License
© 2022 Alrasheed and Aldakhil1.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Optometry, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia; Tel: +00966505201475; Email: s.rasheed@qu.edu.sa


Abstract

Background:

Ocular biometrics, such as corneal curvature, axial length, anterior chamber depth, and lens thickness, play a significant role in the development of refractive error and are essential in many clinical and research applications.

Objective:

To determine means and ranges for corneal curvature, axial length, anterior chamber depth, lens thickness, vitreous chamber depth, and their intercorrelations with refractive error in Saudi adults.

Methods:

A total of 120 eyes of 60 hyperopic and 60 myopic subjects aged 19-26 years old were enrolled in this comparative cross-sectional study. Axial Length (AL), Anterior Chamber Depth (ACD), Lens Thickness (LT), and Vitreous Chamber Depth (VCD) were measured by the SONOMED ultrasound E-Z SCAN AB5500+, A-scan, with a contact technique. An ophthalmometer measured the refractive status objectively by auto-refraction and the corneal radius of curvature.

Results:

The findings showed that the myopic eyes had a deeper ACD(3.70±0.27mm) than hyperopic eyes (3.28±0.32mm), P=0.0001. However, the hyperopic eyes had a thicker LT (3.84±0.24mm) than the myopic eyes (3.81±0.19mm), P=0.640. The mean of the corneal radius of curvature for the myopic eyes was slightly more curved (7.87±0.23mm) than for the hyperopic eyes (7.95±0.27mm), P=0.602. The myopic eyes had a higher axial length/corneal radius AL/CR ratio (3.12±0.11) than hyperopic eyes (2.89±0.06), with P=0.0001. Myopic spherical equivalent (SPH) positively correlated with VCD and AL/CR ratio, P=0.0001. Vitreous chamber depth/Axial length ratio (VCD/AL) in the myopic eyes was higher (0.693±0.041) than in the hyperopic eyes (0.677±0.018), P=0.000. Hyperopic SPH was positively associated with the VCD/AL ratio, P=0.0001.

Conclusion:

Myopic eyes had a deeper VCD than hyperopic eyes; there was a strong positive correlation between VCD and myopic SPH. There was a strong positive correlation between the AL/CR ratio and myopic SPH and a VCD/AL ratio and the hyperopic SPH. Thus, the study suggests the possible utility of the AL/CR ratio while assessing the development of myopic refractive error and the VCD/AL ratio when evaluating hyperopic eyes and their associated complications.

Keywords: Refractive errors, Anterior chamber depth, Lens thickness, Vitreous chamber depth, Vitreous chamber depth, Axial length ratio, Axial length/corneal radius AL/CR ratio.