Normative ocular biometric profile of emmetropic Nepalese children: a hospital-based cross-sectional study

To evaluate ocular biometric parameters and corneal topographical parameters in emmetropic Nepalese children using swept-source optical biometer.

This cross-sectional study included 190 emmetropic Nepalese children aged 6-18 years. Ocular biometric parameters (Corneal radius of curvature, Axial length, Anterior chamber depth, Lens thickness, Pachymetry, Pupil diameter, White to white diameter) and corneal topographical parameters (Corneal eccentricity index, Average central corneal power, Fourier index) were measured using OA-2000 optical biometer. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27. Correlation between key ocular biometric parameters were analyzed using Pearson's correlation.

The study included 97 males (51.1%) and 93 females (48.9%), with a mean age of 11.99 ± 3.40 years. Mean flat and steep corneal radius of curvature were 7.91 ± 0.24 mm and 7.78 ± 0.24 mm, respectively. Mean axial length was 23.03 ± 0.67 mm, anterior chamber depth 3.55 ± 0.26 mm, lens thickness 3.56 ± 0.20 mm, pachymetry 527.4 ± 32.50 μm, pupil diameter 5.93 ± 0.69 mm, white-to-white diameter 12.02 ± 0.39 mm, and axial length to corneal radius ratio 2.93 ± 0.07. Males demonstrated significantly larger ocular biometric values than females for all parameters except lens thickness (p < 0.05). Axial length was positively correlated with corneal radius of curvature (r = 0.70, p < 0.001) and anterior chamber depth (r = 0.40, p < 0.001).

Emmetropic Nepalese children exhibit significant gender-related differences for most of the ocular biometric parameters; however, the magnitude of these differences varied, and clinically meaningful differences were primarily noted for axial length and white-to-white diameter. These findings establish normative biometric and topographical data for the Nepalese pediatric population.