Associations between ocular biometry and anthropometric measurements among Sudanese adults

Correlations between body parameters and ocular parameters are essential to emphasize the diagnosis and management of ocular and systemic diseases. This study aimed to assess the associations between ocular parameters and anthropometric parameters in adult Sudanese individuals. A cross-sectional hospital-based study was conducted with 250 young volunteers (250 eyes) at Al-Neelain University Eye Hospital from January to June 2019. Clinical examinations included demographic data, medical history, visual acuity assessment, refractive error, and anterior corneal power (ACP) measurement using an autorefkeratometer and ocular biometry via A-scan ultrasound. Anthropometric assessments included height (measured using a wall-mounted metric ruler), weight (measured with a digital scale), and body mass index (BMI), calculated as weight divided by height squared. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 25. There were 64 (25.6%) men and 186 (74.4%) women. The mean age was 21.29 ± 1.18 years. The mean body height, weight, and BMI were 1.62 ± 0.07 m, 58.56 ± 11.93 kg, and 22.38 ± 4.80 kg/m², respectively. The mean axial length (AL), ACP, anterior chamber depth (ACD), and vitreous depth (VD) were 22.81 ± 0.74 mm, 43.30 ± 1.40 D, 3.20 ± 0.33 mm, and 15.97 ± 0.67 mm, respectively. Body height was positively correlated with AL, ACD, and VD and negatively correlated with ACP (P < 0.001). Body weight was significantly positively correlated with AL and VD (P < 0.05). BMI was not correlated with any ocular parameters (P > 0.05). The study concluded that taller subjects had significantly longer axial lengths, deeper vitreous cavities, and flatter corneas. However, body weight was positively associated with axial length and vitreous depth.