Age-related variations in corneal geometry and their association with astigmatism: The Yamagata Study (Funagata)

To investigate how aging affects corneal geometry in Japanese adults, and the association between corneal geometry and astigmatism. We included 421 participants who had undergone systemic and ophthalmological examinations in 2015 in Funagata town, Yamagata, Japan. Corneal topographic data were obtained using anterior-segment optical coherence tomography (CASIA SS-1000). Astigmatism was evaluated using power vector analyses where J(0) represents the power of the orthogonal astigmatism. Positive values of J(0) indicate with-the-rule astigmatism, while negative values indicate against-the-rule (ATR) astigmatism. Regarding age-related variations in corneal geometry, the anterior elevations at axis 0° and 180° decreased, and those at axis 90° and 270° increased with increasing age in linear regression analyses, demonstrating horizontal steepening and vertical flattening of the corneal surface. There were no significant age-related variations in posterior elevations and pachymetry findings, including central corneal thickness. Regarding age-related variations in orthogonal astigmatism, the mean values of J(0) and corneal J(0) (cJ(0)) decreased by –0.014 and –0.015 per year of increase in age, indicating astigmatic shift toward ATR. Regarding the correlation between corneal geometry and astigmatism, the shift toward ATR was positively correlated with horizontal steepening and vertical flattening, in accordance with the age-related corneal variations. In addition, the posterior surface of the cornea also has an association with this shift to some extent. The results of our population-based study demonstrated that the age-related variation in astigmatism is associated with geometrical changes in the cornea, especially those in the anterior surface of the cornea.