Distributions of crystalline lens tilt and decentration and associated factors in age-related cataract

To investigate the characteristics and factors associated with crystalline lens tilt and decentration measured by CASIA2 anterior segment optical coherence tomography. SETTING: Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: 1097 eyes of 1097 patients who planned to undergo cataract surgery were enrolled. All patients underwent a general ophthalmologic examination. Lens thickness (LT), front curvature radius (FCR), back curvature radius, lens equator diameter (LED), tilt, and decentration of preoperative crystalline lenses were measured by CASIA2. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed to evaluate the relationships between the tilt and decentration of crystalline lens with related factors. RESULTS: The natural crystalline lenses showed a mean tilt of 5.16 degrees toward the inferotemporal direction and a mean decentration of 0.22 mm toward the temporal direction. Of the total 1097 eyes, 119 eyes (10.85%) had a tilt greater than 7 degrees, and 89 eyes (8.11%) had a decentration more than 0.4 mm. Multivariate regression analysis showed that larger decentration, thicker LT, shorter axial length (AL), and FCR were associated with greater lens tilt (P < .001, P = .007, P = .006, and P = .003, respectively). In addition, greater tilt, older and thinner LT were correlated with larger decentration (all P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative crystalline lens had a certain degree of tilt and decentration in age-related cataract. The greater tilt of the crystalline lens was, the larger decentration of it was. In addition, AL, FCR, LT, and age also correlated with tilt and decentration.