title: Prevalence of primary cornea guttata and morphology of corneal endothelium in aging Japanese and Singaporean subjects.
abstract: The purpose of the present study was to examine, in the aging people, racial and gender differences in the morphology of corneal endothelium as well as the incidence of cornea guttata in two Asian subject groups, one in Singapore and the other in Japan. Four hundred and sixty-five Chinese Singaporeans and 299 Japanese subjects (residents of Monzen-machi, Ishikawa Prefecture) aged 50 years and older were recruited for the study. Corneal endothelial abnormalities were diagnosed with slit-lamp biomicroscopy and specular microscopy. Primary cornea guttata appeared as beaten metal appearance in slit-lamp images and dark regions in specular images. In addition to cornea guttata, corneal endothelial morphology was also analysed with specular microscopy. The mean cell density was 2,808/mm(2) in the Japanese subjects which was significantly higher than the 2,718/mm(2) seen in the Singaporeans (p < 0.001). The incidence of cornea guttata was significantly higher in the Singaporeans than in the Japanese individuals and also higher in women than in men of both racial groups. These differences support not only a racial and a gender factor but also a possible environmental influence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Kanazawa Medical University, Uchinada, Ishikawa 920-0293, Japan. kitagawa@kanazawa-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kitagawa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kitagawa
authors.forename: Masami
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kojima
authors.forename: Huroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Ying-Bo
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Shui
authors.forename: Sek Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Chew
authors.forename: Hong-Ming
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Masaji
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morikawa
authors.forename: Kazuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sasaki
mesh_terms: D002452:Cell Count; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D004728:Endothelium, Corneal / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology