Evaluation of interpupillary distance in the Turkish population

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to report normative values and ranges of interpupillary distance (IPD) in different age groups of a Turkish population. METHODS: A total of 756 healthy subjects were included in this prospective study. After a complete ophthalmic evaluation, subjects were divided into four age groups to assess differences between age groups in relation to IPD. The age groups were 20–30, 31–50, 51–70, and 71–89 years. Far IPD measurements were performed using an autorefractometer (Topcon RM-8800). RESULTS: The mean age was 48.42±20.55 years, ranging from 19 to 89 years. The mean IPD was calculated as 62.5±4.1 mm (range 49–76). The mean IPD value was observed to be significantly higher among males compared to females (P<0.001). The difference among groups in terms of mean IPD was statistically significant (P<0.001). IPD increased by 4.19 mm in males and 3.11 mm in females from the young adults (20–30 years) to older adults (51–70 years), and then a decrease (2.6 and 0.19 mm for males and females, respectively) occurred between 70 and 89 years of age. CONCLUSION: The current study offers the population-specific normative data on far IPD in different age groups. Our study showed that sex and age had a significant effect on IPD. Knowledge of normal values in this population subgroup may be useful in studying orbito-cranial growth patterns, syndrome diagnosis, surgical management of cranio-facial deformities and trauma, and manufactures of optical frames and lenses.