Abstract
The purpose of the study is to describe the values and distribution of corneal epithelium thickness (CET) in normal Chinese school-aged children, and to explore associated factors with CET. CET maps were measured by Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) in normal Chinese children aged 7 to 15 years old from two randomly selected schools in Shanghai, China. Children with normal intraocular pressure were further examined for cycloplegic autorefraction, corneal curvature radius (CCR) and axial length. Central (2-mm diameter area), para-central (2- to 5-mm diameter area), and peripheral (5- to 6-mm diameter area) CET in the superior, superotemporal, temporal, inferotemporal, inferior, inferonasal, nasal, superonasal cornea; minimum, maximum, range, and standard deviation of CET within the 5-mm diameter area were recorded. The CET was thinner in the superior than in the inferior and was thinner in the temporal than in the nasal. The maximum CET was located in the inferior zone, and the minimum CET was in the superior zone. A thicker central CET was associated with male gender (p = 0.009) and older age (p = 0.037) but not with CCR (p = 0.061), axial length (p = 0.253), or refraction (p = 0.351) in the multiple regression analyses. CCR, age, and gender were correlated with para-central and peripheral CET.
Highlights
Measuring profiles of corneal epithelium thickness (CET) in normal population could provide references to define any abnormal thinning or thickening, or change of the distribution pattern in some disease states
Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) is a high-speed, high-resolution, non-contact, 3-dimensional OCT, which has been applied in measuring CET for patients with keratoconus, corneal ectasia and dry eye, patients undergoing LASIK surgery, patients wearing soft or hard contact lenses and normal patients with relatively high repeatability[6,12,19,20,21,22,23,24]
This study presented CET maps of the central (2-mm diameter area), para-central (2- to 5-mm diameter area) and peripheral (6-mm diameter area) corneas in normal Chinese school children using FD-OCT
Summary
Measuring profiles of corneal epithelium thickness (CET) in normal population could provide references to define any abnormal thinning or thickening, or change of the distribution pattern in some disease states. Profiles of CET maps in normal children could provide valuable references for estimating abnormal values or distribution of the CET, which might be an adjunctive indicator for early keratoconus. Wearing orthokeratology (OK) contact lenses could correct visual acuity by epithelium remodeling and was reported to effectively retard progression of myopia with its special control of the relative peripheral hyperopia[11]. Measuring profiles of CET maps is valuable for assessing the safety of corneal epithelium remodeling during the treatment, exploring possible mechanisms behind, or designing the contact lenses[12]. Most of the existing literature about normal CET values and distributions was performed in adult populations; few studies measured CET maps in normal children. Regression analyses were performed to explore possible associated factors for central, para-central, and peripheral CET
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