A Hospital-Based Study on the Prevalence of Keratoconus in First-Degree Relatives of Patients with Keratoconus in Central China

PURPOSE: The present study investigated the prevalence of keratoconus (KC) among first-degree relatives of KC patients in Central China. METHODS: From July 2018 to March 2022, 661 first-degree relatives of 384 KC patients were included in the present study. Corneal tomography, uncorrected distance visual acuity, manifest refraction with corrected distance visual acuity, intraocular pressure, slit-lamp microscopy, and fundus examination were performed. The diagnosis of KC was based on the Belin/Ambrosio enhanced ectasia total deviation value (BAD-D value) on the Pentacam® system (Oculus GmbH). BAD-D value <1.6 was diagnosed as healthy, 1.6≤ BAD-D value <2.6 was diagnosed as suspected KC, and BAD-D value ≥2.6 was diagnosed as KC. RESULTS: The present study included 337 (50.98%) female and 324 (49.02%) male subjects. The prevalence of KC and suspected KC in first-degree relatives was 8.77% (n = 58) and 29.05% (n = 192), respectively. The prevalence of KC was 9.70% among parents and 7.23% among siblings. CONCLUSIONS: The higher prevalence of KC among first-degree relatives of patients with KC suggests that first-degree relatives of KC are at high risk of developing KC.