Profile of central corneal thickness and corneal endothelial cell morpho-density in healthy Congolese eyes

Abstract

Purpose To determine the pachymetric and corneal endothelial cell morphometric features and their relationship to ocular and systemic factors in healthy Congolese subjects. Methods Non-contact specular microscopy was used in 278 healthy eyes (278 subjects) to measure central corneal thickness (CCT), corneal endothelial cell density (CECD) along with cell size, coefficient of variation (CV) in cell size, and hexagonality (HEX). The lower and upper reference limits and average values for each parameter were determined. Correlation and association of average values with anthropo-demographic and clinical variables were assessed. Results The mean age was 38.9 ± 17.2 years (10.9–80.7 years). Average values were 504.2 ± 30.7 μm (CCT), 2907.1 ± 290.9 cells/mm2 (CECD), 348.5 ± 38.4 μm2 (cell size), 32.9 ± 3.6% (CV), and 51.8 ± 7.2% (HEX). CCT was 504.9 ± 33.6 μm in men and 503.6 ± 28.3 μm in women (p = .73); values for CECD were 2917.1 ± 253.5 cells/mm2 and 2899.2 ± 317.8 cells/mm2 (p = 0.61), respectively. Lower and upper reference limits were 449.6 μm and 566.0 μm for CCT, and 2165.3 cells/mm2 and 3414.4 cells/mm2 for CECD, respectively. CCT correlated with body mass index (BMI), (r = − 0.12, P = 0.04). CECD decreased with age (r = − 0.49, P < 0.001), BMI (r = − 0.20, P = 0.001), intraocular pressure (r = − 0.13, P = 0.029) and ocular perfusion pressure (r = − 0.28, P = 0.028). CECD decayed by 8.3 cells/mm2 or 0.30% per year of age and CCT decreased by 0.72 μm per kg/m2. Conclusions Mean central cornea was thinner, CECD higher, and references limits lower than reported in other African populations. The CCT and CECD normative values reported herein will be useful for both clinical and research purposes in this population.