Central Corneal Thickness of Korean Patients with Glaucoma

Objective: To characterize the central corneal thickness (CCT) in Koreans and assess CCT variation in different types of glaucoma. Design: Observational cross-sectional study. Participants: Patients previously diagnosed as primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG, n = 343), normal-tension glaucoma (NTG, n = 192), and ocular hypertension (OHT, n = 44), as well as nonglaucomatous patients (n = 224) examined in a glaucoma clinic in Korea. Methods: Participants' CCT was measured by ultrasound pachymetry. Main Outcome Measures: Mean CCT and its correlations with glaucoma diagnosis, age, spherical equivalent, gender, diabetes, and hypertension. Results: Mean CCT was highest in eyes with OHT (582.1 μm, P<0.0001), lowest in NTG (537.5 μm, P<0.0001), and intermediate and similar in eyes with POAG and healthy eyes (550.7 and 553.6 μm, respectively, P = 0.289). Central corneal thickness was inversely correlated with age (r = -0.12; P<0.0001). There was no statistically significant difference in mean CCT between eyes with different gender or presence of diabetes and hypertension. Mean CCT in normal and OHT eyes was weakly correlated with refractive error (P<0.05). Conclusions: In Korean subjects, CCT is greatest in eyes with OHT and least in eyes with NTG.