ANTERIOR-CHAMBER DEPTH IN MONGOLIANS - VARIATION WITH AGE, SEX, AND METHOD OF MEASUREMENT

PURPOSE: To document anterior chamber depth in a Mongolian population and quantify the variation in this parameter attributable to age, sex, and method of measurement. METHOD: Depth of the anterior chamber was measured by optical pachymetry in 1,242 subjects aged 10 to 87 years. Figures for ''true'' anterior chamber depth were calculated by subtrac ting central corneal thickness from the distance between the anterior corneal epithelium and anterior lens capsule. A mode ultrasound was al so used to measure the distance from anterior corneal epithelium to an terior lens capsule in 94% (942) of subjects aged 40 years and older. These ultra-sound data were compared with measurements of the same dis tance obtained by optical pachymetry. RESULTS: Mean anterior chamber d epth in women was more shallow than in men of all ages (ANOVA., P<.000 1), although this difference varied according to age. Mean anterior ch amber depth decreased with age and was most accurately represented by a cubic function of age, This change was maximal between the ages of 3 0 and 60 years and equaled 0.15 mm per decade in men and 0.21 mm per d ecade in women. Mean depth of the anterior chamber measured by ultraso und was significantly less than the equivalent optical measurement (di fference of 0.14 mm in right eyes, P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Mean anterior chamber depth in Mongolians decreases with age and is more shallow in women than in men. Ultrasound and optical methods of anterior chamber depth measurement yield significantly different results and are there fore not directly comparable.