Relationship between Corneal Thickness and Radius to Body Height

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Human Anatomy
• Biometry

Background:

• Corneal properties are crucial for refractive error and ocular health.
• Understanding factors influencing corneal dimensions is important for clinical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between body stature (height) and corneal thickness and radius.
• To analyze these relationships in younger-adult Caucasians.

Main Methods:

• Measured height and weight in 109 healthy adults (average age 24 years).
• Performed ophthalmic assessments using Scheimpflug topography and specular microscopy.
• Analyzed central/peripheral corneal thickness and corneal radius using regression analysis.

Main Results:

• Body height showed weak associations with corneal thickness (r ≥ -0.180) and moderate association with corneal radius (r = 0.351).
• Each 0.1m increase in height correlated with an 8 μm decrease in central corneal thickness and a 0.11 mm increase in corneal radius.
• No significant correlations were found with body weight or body mass index.

Conclusions:

• Body stature is linked to corneal radius and thickness.
• The effect sizes of these associations are small, explaining less than 13% of corneal curvature variability.