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. 2022 Aug 6;22(1):334.
doi: 10.1186/s12886-022-02561-1.

Corneal endothelial cell density and its correlation with birth weight, anthropometric parameters, and ocular biometric parameters in Chinese school children

Zijin Wang #  1 , Xiaoxia Zuo #  1 , Lei Liu #  1 , Xuejuan Chen  1 , Rui Li  1 , Hui Zhu  1 , Dan Huang  2 , Haohai Tong  3 , Xiaoyan Zhao  4 , Wen Yan  5 , Shiya Shen  1 , Yun Wang  1 , Xiaoxiao Li  6 , Andi Zhao  1 , Danni Chen  1 , Ranran Ding  7 , Shiding Li  7 , Hu Liu  8
Affiliations

Corneal endothelial cell density and its correlation with birth weight, anthropometric parameters, and ocular biometric parameters in Chinese school children

Zijin Wang et al. BMC Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Background: To describe the distribution of corneal endothelial cell density (ECD), and to explore its correlation with birth weight (BW), anthropometric parameters, and ocular biometric parameters in Chinese school children.

Methods: In the population-based cross-sectional Nanjing Eye Study, children were measured for anthropometric information, for ECD by the noncontact specular microscope and for ocular biometric parameters by the optic low-coherent reflectometer. Data from right eyes were analyzed to illustrate the distribution of ECD and for determining correlated factors with ECD using univariate and multiple linear regression analysis. Comparisons among three different BW groups were performed using a one-way ANOVA analysis followed by the Bonferroni correction for pairwise comparisons.

Results: Of 1171 children, the mean (± standard deviation) ECD was 2875.34 ± 195.00 cells/mm2. In the Multiple Linear Regression analysis, BW, gender and central corneal thickness were significantly associated with ECD. The ECD increased by 36.16 cells/mm2 with BW increasing by 1 kg (P = 0.001) and increased by 0.44 cells/mm2 for every additional 1 mm in central corneal thickness (P = 0.01). The ECD of girls was 54.41 cells/mm2 higher than boys (P < 0.001). Children born with low BW presented significantly lower ECD than those born with normal BW (P < 0.05) and high BW (P < 0.05). Age and axial length were not significantly associated with ECD (P = 0.06 and P = 0.21, respectively).

Conclusions: In Chinese school children aged 82 to 94 months, the ECD is positively correlated with BW and central corneal thickness, in which BW is a newly identified associated factor. It is like that gender plays an important role in ECD distribution while girls have relatively greater ECD than boys.

Keywords: Birth weight; Body mass index; Corneal endothelial cell density; Epidemiology; Ocular parameters.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
(Upper left) the scatter plot of corneal endothelial cell density versus birth weight. (Upper right) the scatter plot of corneal endothelial cell density versus age. (Lower left) the scatter plot of corneal endothelial cell density versus axial length. (Lower right) the scatter plot of corneal endothelial cell density versus central corneal thickness
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Violin plot combined with box plot analysis comparing the distribution of corneal endothelial cell density (ECD) in the boys and girls. The blue group represents boys (Group 1), whereas the orange group represents girls (Group 2). The mean (± SD) ECD in boys was 2850.31 ± 188.57 cells/mm2 and the mean (± SD) ECD in girls was 2905.10 ± 198.48 cells/mm2
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Density plot of corneal endothelial cell density (ECD) in low birth weight group (Group 1), normal birth weight group (Group 0) and high birth weight group (Group 2). The mean ECD was 2785.81 cells/mm2 in low birth weight group, 2879.71 cells/mm2 in normal birth weight group and 2899.82 cells/mm2 in high birth weight group
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