Central corneal thickness of indigenous Australians within Central Australia.
OBJECTIVE
To document the central corneal thickness (CCT) among a group of Indigenous Australians compared with a group of Australian Caucasian individuals.


METHODS
Clinic-based case-control study.


METHODS
A total of 91 Indigenous Australians from remote clinics in Central Australia and 84 Caucasian subjects from a teaching hospital in South Australia were recruited. Each subject underwent ultrasound pachymetry, and results were compared between groups.


RESULTS
Mean +/- SD CCT for Indigenous Australians for right and left eyes, respectively, was 511 +/- 34 microm and 513 +/- 35 microm; and 541 +/- 31 microm and 543 +/- 33 microm in Caucasian subjects (t = 6.96; P < .0001 for right eyes and t = 6.56; P < .0001 for left eyes).


CONCLUSIONS
Indigenous Australians exhibit CCT that is significantly lower than that of Caucasian subjects. Given that Indigenous Australians are considered to be at very low risk of developing glaucoma, low CCT values alone may not be sufficient to increase the risk of developing glaucoma in a particular race.
Landers
John A
JA
Department of Ophthalmology, Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. john.landers@bigpond.com
Billing
Kathryn J
KJ
Mills
Richard A
RA
Henderson
Tim R
TR
Craig
Jamie E
JE
D000886:Anthropometry; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003315:Cornea / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003941:Diagnostic Techniques, Ophthalmological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015876:Northern Territory / Q000208:ethnology; D013021:South Australia; D014463:Ultrasonography; D044465:White People