Japanese men have greater central corneal thickness than women

Central corneal thickness was greater in Japanese men than Japanese women and was positively correlated with IOP and corneal radius in a large study. Corneal thickness was negatively correlated with age and refraction in men, the study by Shigenobu Suzuki, MD, and colleagues found.

Participants in the study were 2,848 Japanese men and 4,465 Japanese women who were “selected as an ophthalmologically normal Japanese sample,” the study authors said. All participants were identified from the Eye Disease Screening Service in Tajimi from September 2000 to October 2001.

The average central corneal thickness in the participants, as measured by specular microscopic pachymetry, was 517.5 µm. Central corneal thickness was greater by about 7 µm in men (with an average of 521.5 µm) than women (with an average of 514 µm). Central corneal thickness was positively correlated with IOP and corneal radius and negatively correlated with refraction, although the correlation was weak, the researchers said.

As measured with Goldmann applanation tonometry, IOP was positively correlated with central corneal thickness.

“The central corneal thickness measured by the Topcon SP-2000P had a significant positive correlation with corneal radius, and no correlation with body mass index or blood pressure. In men, central corneal thickness was relatively weakly correlated between age and refraction. Intraocular pressure had a significant positive correlation with central corneal thickness, but not with age,” the researchers said. “The present study provides basic data for future ophthalmologic studies in Japanese.”

The study is published in the August issue of Ophthalmology.