Age-related optical changes: stability of coma and increased spherical aberrations in the cornea and whole eye

To investigate whether higher-order aberrations (HOAs) in the anterior and posterior corneal surfaces and the entire eye vary with age.

A prospective, cross-sectional study.

One hundred eyes from 100 participants, with 20 eyes per decade group (20s to 60s+), were assessed. Participants had no ocular diseases except refractive errors and mild cataracts, and no abnormalities on the anterior corneal surface, as assessed by Placido-based corneal topography. Corneal and ocular wavefront aberrations were measured with an integrated Scheimpflug tomographer/Hartmann-Shack wavefront aberrometer and analyzed over a 4-mm pupil. The root mean square values for total HOAs, spherical aberrations (SAs), and coma were calculated from the Zernike coefficients up to the 6th order. The total HOAs, SAs, and comas from the anterior corneal surface, posterior corneal surface, total cornea, and whole eye were compared across the age groups. The correlations between HOAs and age were also evaluated.

Significant positive correlations with age were observed for the total HOAs and SAs in the anterior cornea (R=0.27, 0.29; P<0.01), total cornea (R=0.31, 0.34; P<0.01), and whole eye (R=0.48, 0.39; P<0.01). No significant correlations were found for coma in any region. Similarly, no significant correlations were observed for the total HOAs, SAs, or coma in the posterior cornea.

Total HOAs and SAs in the anterior cornea, total cornea, and whole eye were significantly positively correlated with age, whereas coma exhibited no age-related changes. These findings underscore the importance of considering age-related optical changes in clinical evaluations.