BIOMETRY AND PRIMARY ANGLE-CLOSURE GLAUCOMA AMONG CHINESE, WHITE, ANDBLACK POPULATIONS

Purpose: Primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) is more prevalent among Chinese than whites. The authors tested the hypothesis that Chinese h ave shallower anterior chambers than do whites, a factor that may be r elated to PACG prevalence. Methods: The authors compared anterior cham ber depth, axial length, radius of corneal curvature, and refractive e rror among 531 Chinese, 170 whites, and 188 blacks older than 40 years of age using the same model of instruments and identical technique. R esults: Mean anterior chamber depth and axial length did not differ si gnificantly for the three groups, Whites had a significantly higher pr evalence of hyperopia >2 diopters than did Chinese, Radius of corneal curvature was significantly smaller among Chinese than whites or black s. Conclusions: These results suggest that Chinese do not differ on a population basis from other ethnic groups in many of the biometric ris k factors known to be of importance for PACG, It will be necessary to identify other ocular biometric parameters to explain the excess burde n of PACG among Chinese, which may improve the effectiveness of screen ing for this disease in all populations.