ANTERIOR-CHAMBER DEPTH AND PIGMENT DISPERSION SYNDROME

Pigment dispersion syndrome is thought to be the result of iris pigmen t abrasion by zonular packets. This condition primarily affects young males with myopia, perhaps because of deeper anterior chambers that ma ke such pigment abrasion more likely. Males have been described to hav e larger eyes and deeper anterior chambers. This constellation, howeve r, does not explain conclusively the predominance of males who have pi gment dispersion syndrome. We, therefore, studied whether anterior cha mbers in males are deeper than those in females, not only in absolute measures but also relative to the axial length. Our results of 60 pati ents disclosed that men had not only significantly deeper mean absolut e anterior chambers (men, 3.22 +/- 0.42 mm; women, 2.88 +/- 0.38 mm; P = .002) but also deeper mean relative anterior chambers (men, 13.54% +/- 1.66%; women, 12.45% +/- 1.2%; P = .013). No significant differenc es existed between genders with regard to lens thickness, extent of am etropia, and visual acuity. Thus, normal developmental differences bet ween genders may predispose males for deeper anterior chambers and, co nsequently, for pigment dispersion syndrome.