Central corneal thickness measurements in ocular hypertension, primary open angle glaucoma, glaucoma suspects and control subjects.

PURPOSE

To compare central corneal thickness (CCT) in patients with ocular hypertension (OH), primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), glaucoma suspects and control subjects and to determine if there is a correlation between CCT and age.

DESIGN

Prospective study.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

CCT was evaluated in 50 eyes of 25 OH patients (mean age 52.4 +/- 1.6 yrs, x +/- Sx) who were allocated into group 1, in 26 eyes of 13 glaucoma patients (mean age 64.1 +/- 1.0 yrs)--group 2, 46 eyes of 23 glaucoma suspects (mean age 60.1 +/- 1.3 yrs)--group 3, and 144 eyes of 72 control subjects (mean age 61.4 +/- 0.9 yrs)--group 4. CCT was measured using an ultrasonic pachymeter (Pach IV, Accutome).

RESULTS

The OH patients had a mean CCT of 582.88 +/- 5.51 microm. The mean CCT for the glaucoma patients was 552.38 +/- 5.90 microm, for the glaucoma suspects--551.04 +/- 4.23 microm and for the controls--549.47 +/- 3.07 microm. There was significant difference in age between group 1 and group 2 patients (P = 0.007) and between group 1 and group 4 patients (P = 0.001). CCT in the eyes with OH was significantly greater than that in POAG eyes (P = 0.003), in glaucoma suspects eyes (P < 0.001) and in control eyes (P < 0.001) (ANOVA, with Bonferroni correction).

CONCLUSIONS

The comparative evaluation of CCT in patients with OH, POAG, glaucoma suspects and controls shows that CCT is the thickest in patients with OH. There is a correlation between CCT and age--younger patients possess thicker corneas. Our results suggest that CCT should be taken into account when assessing the risk for the development of glaucoma in OH patients.