title: Keratoconus in Asian eyes at a tertiary eye care facility.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study was to assess the demographic variables, age at diagnosis, keratometry and slitlamp signs in keratoconus.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-one patients with 61 keratoconic eyes were selected provided they met one of two criteria: 1. They had an irregular corneal surface, Vogt's striae, Fleischer's ring or apical sub-epithelial corneal scarring characteristic of keratoconus; 2. Corneal topography revealed an average simulated keratometry of more than 45.2 D, central corneal power higher than 47.2 D or infero-superior asymmetry greater than 1.4 D. The main outcome measures were demographic variables, age at diagnosis, disease severity on keratometry and biomicroscopic signs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients' mean age at presentation was 20.2 +/- 6.4 years. Based on average keratometry values, 67.2 per cent of eyes had severe and 32.8 per cent had moderate keratoconus. Eyes with severe keratoconus presented at a younger average age (18.8 +/- 5.35 years) than moderate keratoconus (23.69 +/- 8.07 years). Thirty-eight eyes (92.5 per cent) with severe and 13 eyes (65 per cent) with moderate keratoconus demonstrated biomicroscopic signs of keratoconus. Twenty eyes (32.7 per cent) demonstrated apical sub-epithelial cornea scarring and 95 per cent of these eyes had severe keratoconus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of keratoconic eyes in Asian-Indian patients demonstrate the severe stage of the disease by the second decade.
authors.affiliation: Advanced Eye Center, Department of Ophthalmology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Jagjit S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Saini
authors.forename: Vandana
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Saroha
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Jaspreet S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Sukhija
authors.forename: Arun K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Jain
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D044466:Asian People; D002648:Child; D019781:Corneal Topography; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007640:Keratoconus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014792:Visual Acuity