title: Correlation of anterior corneal higher-order aberrations with age: a comprehensive investigation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of higher-order aberrations (HOAs) of the anterior cornea of eyes with cataract in a senior Chinese population and their correlations with age.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four hundred ten Chinese patients (male/female: 196/214; age: 67.9 ± 10.0 years) with cataract were categorized into 5 groups according to their age. The HOAs in the central 6-mm zone of the cornea were measured with an iTrace wavefront analyzer. The correlations between age and total HOA, coma aberration, trefoil aberration, and spherical aberration were assessed using Spearman analysis. The differences in total HOA, coma aberration, trefoil aberration, spherical aberration among various age groups were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis H test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The corneal HOA exhibited a nonnormal distribution. A weak correlation was found between age and total HOA, coma aberration (Z3), trefoil aberration (Z3) (P < 0.001 for all). No correlation was found between age and spherical aberration (Z4). Differences in the root mean square of the total HOA, Z3, and Z3 were found among various age groups (P < 0.05). No difference was found in the root mean square of Z4, spherical diopter, corneal curvature, corneal astigmatism, corneal effective refractive power, corneal asphericity Q value and corneal central power across the groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The distribution of anterior corneal HOAs of eyes with cataract in a senior Chinese population is of the nonnormal type. The total HOA, Z3, and Z3 are correlated to age, unlike Z4 of the anterior cornea.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Cataract at Clinical College of Ophthalmology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China; †Department of Cataract at Tianjin Eye Hospital, Tianjin, China; ‡Tianjin Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Tianjin, China; §Department of Ophthalmology at Tianjin Nankai Hospital, Tanjin, China; and ¶Tianjin Eye Institute, Tianjin, China.
authors.forename: Shujin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D057128:Aberrometry; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D002386:Cataract / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003315:Cornea / Q000503:physiopathology*; D057108:Corneal Wavefront Aberration / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged