Corneal biomechanical properties in myopic and emmetropic children

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between corneal biomechanics and ocular morphology in myopic children and adolescents.

Patients and methods: The study included 170 right eyes, from 170 patients under the age of 18 years, who underwent a complete ophthalmologic examination, gathering the following data: spherical equivalent (SE) (under pharmacological cycloplegia), biomechanical parameters - corneal hysteresis (CH) and corneal resistance factor (CRF), structural parameters - axial length (AL) and central corneal thickness (CCT).

Results: The average age of the patients was 15.26 years old (55.29% girls, 44.70% boys). Out of the 170 eyes, 111 were myopic eyes and 59 were emmetropic. Myopic eyes had a significantly lower CH (p=0.001), CRF (p=0.002) and CCT (p=0.009), and higher AL (p<0.001) than emmetropic eyes. The AL and CCT were significantly higher in myopic males, compared to myopic females (p<0.001 and 0.001). In myopes, we found statistically significant negative correlations between AL and CH (Pearson's r=-0.218), CRF (r=-0.226) and also SE (r=-0.539), and positive between SE and either CH (r=0.193) or CRF (r=0.201).

Conclusions: Corneal biomechanical properties are significantly related to myopia parameters in children.