Anterior chamber depth and pigment dispersion syndrome

Pigment dispersion syndrome is thought to be the result of iris pigment abrasion by zonular packets. This condition primarily affects young males with myopia, perhaps because of deeper anterior chambers that make such pigment abrasion more likely. Males have been described to have larger eyes and deeper anterior chambers. This constellation, however, does not explain conclusively the predominance of males who have pigment dispersion syndrome. We, therefore, studied whether anterior chambers in males are deeper than those in females, not only in absolute measures but also relative to the axial length. Our results of 60 patients disclosed that men had not only significantly deeper mean absolute anterior chambers (men, 3.22 +/- 0.42 mm; women, 2.88 +/- 0.38 mm; P = .002) but also deeper mean relative anterior chambers (men, 13.54% +/- 1.66%; women, 12.45% +/- 1.2%; P = .013). No significant differences existed between genders with regard to lens thickness, extent of ametropia, and visual acuity. Thus, normal developmental differences between genders may predispose males for deeper anterior chambers and, consequently, for pigment dispersion syndrome.