Corneal thickness measurements obtained with Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography in different age groups of healthy subjects

AIM:To study normal value of corneal thickness in healthy subjects in different age groups with Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography(FD-OCT). METHODS:Total 420 eyes of 210 healthy volunteers were analyzed. These were divided into three groups: young group(YG, n=70, 140 eyes, 18 to 40 years old), medium group(MG, n=70, 140 eyes, 41 to 60 years old), old group(OG, n=70, 140 eyes, more 61 years old). Corneal thickness in central zone and inner-ring and outer-ring zones were measured by using FD-OCT. RESULTS:The thinnest zone was 527.19±1.72μm in central cornea zone, and the thickest zone was 582.42±2.50μm in superior in outer zone. Differences of corneal thickness were not significant in different measured zones(P>0.05). Average values of corneal thickness made by FD-OCT was better consistent and highly correlated for three groups(right eye: YG-MG: r=0.949, MG-OG: r=0.924,YG-OG: r=0.981. left eye: YG-MG: r=0.996, MG-OG: r=0.901, YG-OG: r=0.876). CONCLUSION: Measurement of cornea thickness by FD-OCT is more reproducible, reliable and convenient, and may better represent actual cornea thickness.