title: Relationship between central corneal thickness, refractive error, corneal curvature, anterior chamber depth and axial length.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To determine the relationship between central corneal thickness (CCT), refractive error, corneal curvature, anterior chamber depth and axial length in normal Taiwanese Chinese adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five hundred normal Taiwanese Chinese patients aged 40-80 years were recruited for the study. Measurement procedures included CCT, refractive error, corneal curvature, anterior chamber depth and axial length. Exclusion criteria were previous ocular surgery, glaucoma, trauma history, external eye disease, and previous contact lens use. The relationships among parameters were tested using Pearson's correlation and linear regression analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median CCT was 555 +/- 27 mum for males and 553 +/- 30 mum for females. Eyes with more myopic refractive error tended to have greater axial length (r = -0.645, p < 0.001). Eyes with axial elongation tended to have flatter cornea (r = -0.502, p < 0.001) and deeper anterior chamber (r = 0.651, p < 0.001). There were no significant correlations between the CCT and refractive error (r = -0.034, p = 0.445), corneal curvature (r = 0.013, p = 0.770), anterior chamber depth (r = 0.023, p = 0.614) and axial length (r = -0.053, p = 0.223).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CCT was not associated with refractive error, corneal curvature, anterior chamber depth and axial length. CCT is an independent factor unrelated to other ocular parameters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. mj_chen@vghtpe.gov.tw
authors.forename: Mei-Ju
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yin-Tzu
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Chia-Chen
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Yen-Cheng
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ching-Kuang
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.forename: Shu-Mei
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000867:Anterior Chamber / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D044466:Asian People; D003315:Cornea / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D012030:Refractive Errors / Q000473:pathology*; D013624:Taiwan