Corneal Biomechanics Differences Between Chinese and Caucasian Healthy Subjects

The aim of this study was to evaluate the difference between Caucasian and Chinese healthy subjects with regards to Corvis ST dynamic corneal response parameters (DCRs).

Two thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine healthy Caucasian and Chinese subjects were included in this multicenter retrospective study. Subsequently, Chinese eyes were matched to Caucasians by age, intraocular pressure (IOP), and Corneal Thickness (CCT) using a case-control matching algorithm. The DCRs assessed were Deformation Amplitude (DA) Applanation 1 velocity (A1v), integrated radius (1/R), deformation amplitude ratio (DAratio), stiffness parameter at applanation 1 (SPA1), ARTh (Ambrósio's Relational Thickness to the horizontal profile), and the novel Stress Strain Index (SSI).

After age-, CCT-, and IOP- matching, 503 Chinese were assigned to 452 Caucasians participants. Statistical analysis showed a statistical significant difference between Chinese and Caucasian Healthy subjects in the values of SPA1 (p = 0.008), Arth (p = 0.008), and SSI (p < 0.001). Conversely, DA, A1v, DAratio, and 1/R were not significantly different between the two ethnical groups (p > 0.05).

We found significant differences in the values of the DCRs provided by the Corvis ST between Chinese and Caucasian healthy subjects.