GENDER-RELATED PARAMETERS OF THE ANTERIOR EYE SEGMENT AND AXIAL LENGTH

Parameters of the anterior eye segment have been the subject of numerous studies. However, they have rarely been evaluated on a gender-specific basis although anatomical variations can influence the effectiveness of vision correction procedures like LVC, phakic IOL, the choice of contact lenses or intraocular lenses. Furthermore, certain eye conditions, such as glaucoma and dry eye syndrome, show gender-related disparities in prevalence and progression, emphasizing the importance of understanding these variations. As a result, tailored diagnostic and treatment strategies can be developed to address the unique needs of both men and women. This research contributes to the understanding gender-specify differences. 

International Vision Correction Research Centre (IVCRC), Department of Ophthalmology, Ruprecht-Karls-University of Heidelberg, Germany

I.R.C.C.S.-G.B. Bietti Foundation, Rome, Italy

QVision Vithas Hospital Almería, Almería, Spain

Retrospective analyse of data from three study sites was conducted including only healthy phakic eyes without any previous refractive surgeries. All eyes were measured with the Pentacam AXL Wave. Numerous parameters of the anterior eye segment (ant. chamber depth (ACD) external, ant. chamber angle (ACA), ant. chamber volume (ACV), central corneal thickness (CCT), thinnest corneal thickness (TCT), difference between CCT and TCT (CT_diff), ratio of posterior to anterior corneal curvature (B/F ratio), corneal optical densitometry of the posterior cornea in a 2 mm zone (COD), horizontal white-to-white (HWTW), pupil size under day and night light condition) and axial length (AL) were tested for dependence on gender. An independent t-test was used to detect statistically significant differences.

The study included 1075 eyes (one eye per participant). The 629 female participants (F) were an average 51 ±19 years old (range 10 – 90 years), and the 446 male participants (M) had an average age of 55 ±20 years (range 11 – 89 years). Statistically significant differences between men and women were found for the following parameters: pupil Day – F: 2,8 ±0,5mm; M:2,6 ±0,5mm; p<0,01; pupil Night – F: 5,1 ±1,1mm, M: 4,9 ±1,2mm, p=0,01; CT_diff – F: 4,6 ±2,7µm, M: 5,2 ±3,2µm, p<0,01; ACD_ext – F: 3,37 ±0,43mm, M: 3,44 ±0,43mm, p=0,01; ACV – F: 152,4 ±41,3mm³, M: 162,9 ±44,9mm³, p<0,01; and HWTW – F: 12,0 ±0,4mm, M: 12,2 ±0,4mm, p<0,01; AL – F: 23,9 ±1,4mm, M: 24,4 ±1,4mm, p<0,01. There was no statistically significant difference for the parameters CCT, TCT, ACA, B/F Ratio, and COD.

In total twelve parameters were analysed and for more than half of them values were significantly different for men and women. This underlines that gender-specific conditions are not negligible, however, their clinical relevance must still be discussed.