Correlations of Corneal Curvature with Corneal Spherical Aberration and Anterior Chamber Parameters in Eyes with Shallow Anterior Chambers

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to investigate the distribution of corneal spherical aberration (CSA) and the relationship between corneal curvature with CSA and anterior chamber parameters in age-related cataract patients with normal axial lengths and shallow anterior chambers. METHODS: Preoperative data of age-related cataract patients were collected in this retrospective comparative study. According to the average corneal curvature, the eyes were divided into groups of K(m) < 42 diopters (D), 42 D ≤ K(m) < 45 D, and K(m) ≥ 45 D. The axial length (AL) and corneal curvature were obtained using IOLMaster. CSA, anterior chamber depth (ACD), anterior chamber volume (ACV), anterior chamber angle (ACA), and corneal diameter (CD) were acquired according to Pentacam. The above parameters were compared among the three groups. Correlation analysis was applied to these parameters. RESULTS: The average CSA value of 753 eyes was 0.41 ± 0.27 μm, with no significant difference among the three groups. Overall, CSA was significantly correlated with corneal curvature and ACD. The comparison of ACD among the three groups showed significant differences between the K(m) ≥ 45 D group, K(m) < 42 D group, and 42 D ≤ K(m) < 45 D group. Corneal curvature was positively correlated with ACD, and further analysis confirmed that the relationship was significant only in the K(m) ≥ 45 D group. There were statistically significant differences in CD between the three groups. A significant correlation was found in corneal curvature and CD in all eyes, which was also found in the 42 D ≤ K(m) < 45 D group and the K(m) ≥ 45 D group. Concerning ACV and ACA, no correlation with corneal curvature was found. In addition, the mean ACV and ACA of the three groups did not show any significant difference. CONCLUSIONS: CSA was higher in this population and had individual variance. Compared with ACD, ACV and ACA were more stable in different corneal curvatures and more objective in representing the anterior chamber space.