Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, Vol 38, 311-320, Copyright © 1997 by Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology

ARTICLES AND REPORTS

Corneal topography and myopia. A cross-sectional study

LG Carney, JC Mainstone and BA Henderson
School of Optometry, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.

PURPOSE: Central corneal curvature is known to vary with refractive error, but the relation between corneal topography and ametropia is less clear. The current study was conducted to determine whether a relation exists between corneal asphericity and myopia. Associations between corneal asphericity and each of the components of refraction also were examined. METHODS: Corneal asphericity and apical radius of curvature were determined for 113 eyes (spherical equivalent refractive error +0.25 diopter [D] to -9.88 D) by fitting a conicoid equation to videokeratoscopic data. Computerized videokeratoscopic images were recorded using a Topographic Modeling System. Keratometry also was performed on each eye. Anterior chamber depth, lens thickness, vitreous chamber depth, and axial length were measured with a hand-held biometric ruler. RESULTS: A low but statistically significant positive correlation was found between corneal asphericity (Q) and spherical equivalent refractive error (r = 0.275, P < 0.01). Significant relations also were observed between Q and vitreous chamber depth (r = 0.17, P < 0.1) and between Q and axial length (r = 0.24, P < 0.05). The association between Q and corneal radius of curvature was found not to be significant. Eyes with higher levels of myopia had steeper central corneal curvatures, deeper anterior and vitreous chambers, and greater axial lengths. CONCLUSIONS: A tendency for the cornea to flatten less rapidly in the periphery with increasing myopia was shown. Decreased peripheral corneal flattening also was observed in association with increasing vitreous chamber depth and increasing axial length. These findings have implications for refractive surgery outcomes, schematic eye modeling, contact lens design, and ocular aberration analysis.

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