[SPECULAR MICROSCOPY NORMATIVE DATA: DOES PATIENT AGE HAVE AN IMPACT ON CORNEAL ENDOTHELIUM FEATURES IN ELDERLY...

Corneal endothelium is essential for adequate corneal hydration and transparency. Age and ethnicity- related variability in endothelial properties is known.

To determine specular microscopy trends in the elderly and to provide normative data of endothelial features of the sampled cohort of the Israeli population aged 55-88 years.

This is a retrospective cross-sectional study analyzing specular microscopy data of the Israeli population aged 55-88 years and the determination of correlation of age to specular microscopy features. A comparison of endothelial properties was conducted between age-based groups: 55-64 years, 65-74 years, and 75-88 years.

One hundred and eighty eight eyes of 188 patients, mean age 71.05 ± 7.9 years, were included; Mean Cell Density 2549.53 ± 294.71 cells/mm²; Coefficient of variation (CV) 42.12 ± 6.9%; Hexagonality (Hexa) 49.15 ± 6.62%; Central Corneal thickness (CCT) 552 ± 47 µm. A weak correlation was observed between cell density and age [r = -0.169; p = 0.02); CV, Hexa, and CCT did not show any correlation with age. Group analysis did not reveal statistically significant differences between the following age groups: 55-64 years; 65-74 years; 75-88 years

Normative data of endothelial properties of the sampled cohort of Israeli population aged 55-88 years is provided. Age has a weak correlation with cell density.

Considering the aging of the population, endothelial properties do not justify the rejection of potential donors based on age alone.