The distribution of orbscan indices in young population.

PURPOSE: To determine the distribution of anterior eye biometry indices, such as keratometry pachymetry, anterior chamber depth (ACD), pupil diameter, and corneal diameter, as measured by Orbscan instrument in a young Iranian population.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted, and subjects were selected through multistage cluster sampling from the students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Objective and subjective refraction were performed followed by Orbscan imaging.

RESULTS: A total of 1330 subjects were selected, 1121 of which participated in the study. After applying the exclusion criteria, the final analysis was performed on the data of 1051 subjects. The mean age of the participants was 26.1 ± 3.2 years (19-34 years old). The mean ± SD and 95% confidence interval (CI) of maximum keratometry, minimum keratometry, pupil diameter, corneal diameter, ACD, and central corneal thickness was 44.5 ± 1.7 (44.4-44.6), 43.1 ± 1.6 (43.0-43.2), 4.3 ± 0.9 (4.3-4.4), 11.7 ± 0.4 (11.7-11.7), 3.7 ± 0.3 (3.6-3.7), and 550.5 ± 35 (548.4-552.6), respectively. After adjusting for age and the mean spherical equivalent (MSE), maximum keratometry, minimum keratometry, central corneal thickness, and the thinnest pachymetry were statistically significantly higher in female subjects (P < 0.001) whilst the corneal diameter and ACD were higher in male subjects (P < 0.001). The pupil diameter and ACD showed statistically significant changes with age (P < 0.001). The MSE was only correlated with maximum keratometry and ACD (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: In this study, the distribution of Orbscan measurements for the anterior segment parameters was reported in a large sample of the young Iranian population. Age, gender, and refractive error may affect the orbscan measurements.