Age-Related Changes in Corneal Epithelial Thickness Measured with an Ultrasound Pachymeter

BACKGROUND: There is increasing research on the aging process of the cornea and its effect on the corneal parameters measured objectively. Nevertheless, the association of corneal epithelial thickness (CET) with age has yet to be fully illustrated. PURPOSE: We aimed to measure CET in healthy subjects to determine its age-related variation by using an ultrasound device. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of one hundred and three subjects were enrolled in this study and grouped according to age: Group < 30 years, 31–40 years, 41–50 years, 51–60 years, 61–70 years, and > 71 years. The CET and total central corneal thickness (CCT) of each subject were measured by the Sonogage Corneo-Gage Plus 2 (Cleveland, Ohio) ultrasound pachymeter. The relationships between thickness values, laterality, age groups, and gender were analyzed using the Jonckheere-Terpstra test. The Partial correlation test was employed to assess the effect of age on the CET and CCT. RESULTS: The mean CET was 47.88±1.15μm, with no statistically significant gender-related difference between right and left eyes. In addition, the CCT difference detected between female and male eyes was insignificant. The difference in mean CET across age groups was statistically significant (p =0.029). The difference in mean CET of left eyes across age groups was statistically significant (p=0.031). The mean CET and left CET of the oldest group were significantly thinner than the younger groups. CONCLUSION: Ultrasound pachymeter of the corneal epithelium demonstrated that there was no correlation between age and CCT, or gender. The CET becomes thinner with age in the central zone in both genders and there is no difference between males and females. Based on these results, age has a negative effect on CET. These findings could offer further insight into age-related changes in the cornea.