Association between ocular axial length and anthropometrics of Asian adults

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to analyze axial length, body height, hand length, and foot length to find new factors that predict myopia and to identify gender differences as one of the factors of high myopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted as a single observation. Body height, hand length, and foot length were measured according to standard anthropometric methods. Axial length, retinal thickness, and choroidal thickness were measured using the IOL Master 700 and the Heidelberg Spectralis-OCT. To account for body height differences among participants, foot length/body height and hand length/body height were analyzed using a mixed-effects model. RESULTS: A total of 80 eyes (men, n = 20, 40 eyes; women, n = 20, 40 eyes) were analyzed. The mean age was 33.5 years (range 21–59 years, SD: 9.6). For choroidal thickness, there was a significant association with axial length in men (p < 0.001) and a trend toward an association in women (p = 0.072). There was also a significant association between foot length/body height and axial length in men (p = 0.015), but not in women (p = 0.58). These results suggest that factors that determine body height and foot length may be related to axial length, although they vary by gender.