Correlation between Corneal Topographic Patterns and Refractive Status of the Eye in an Adult Iranian Population: Tehran Study

PURPOSE: To evaluate the corneal topographic patterns in an adult Iranian population and investigate its correlation with the refractive status of the eye. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study named “Tehran Study,” 1023 samples were selected by the cluster sampling method from the downtown area of Tehran. Eight hundred and forty-nine adults aged over 15 years participated. All selected participants were refracted and underwent topography imaging. RESULTS: The patients' ages ranged from 15 to 91 years with a mean of 40.33 ± 16 years. The most frequent topographic patterns were symmetric bowtie (SB) (34%), SB with inferior steepening (SB-IS) (14.1%), and round (10.5%). The orders changed in categorization by refractive status: The most frequent pattern in all subgroups (emmetropia, myopia, and hyperopia) was SB with frequencies 32.7%, 35.8%, and 22.5%, respectively. Although the second order was asymmetric bowtie (AB) with AB-IS in the emmetropic and myopic subgroups, in the hyperopic subgroup, round pattern had the second place. The third place was different in all groups. The rarest patterns in the whole were SB with skewed radial axis (SRAX) and AB with SRAX. The first prevalent topographic pattern was SB in all age groups and in both genders. The prevalence of round pattern, irregular pattern, and SRAX significantly increased in older ages, and the prevalence of SB decreased in older ages. The first observed prevalent pattern was SB in both sexes, but the second most prevalent pattern was AB-IS and round in females and males, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Corneal topographic pattern might be related to the refractive status of the eye. The information about normal topographic patterns provides a reference for comparison with diseased corneas.