Distribution and determinants of corneal volume among healthy young Chinese adults: a cross-sectional study

Background Several studies have previously reported the normal values of corneal volume (CV) in various populations, whereas little is known about the CV distribution in healthy young Chinese adults. Our study aimed to investigate the distribution of CV and its relationships with other ocular biometric parameters among healthy young Chinese adults. Methods A total of 1645 eyes from 1645 students at Dali University in Yunnan Province, China, were analyzed. Pentacam was used to measure CV. Central corneal thickness (CCT) and biomechanically corrected intraocular pressure (bIOP) were evaluated by Corvis-ST. Other biometrical parameters, including axial length (AL), keratometry, and white-to-white (WTW) distance, were measured using IOL Master. Results The mean age of the study population was 19.01 +/- 0.92 years, and 68.81% of them were women. The CV was normally distributed in the whole sample, with a mean value of 61.23 +/- 3.22 mm(3). CV and CCT were significantly smaller in the Yi ethnic group than in the Han ethnic group (p < 0.01). CCT (coefficient: 0.085; p < 0.001) and keratometry (coefficient: 0.422; p < 0.001) were positively correlated with CV, while AL (coefficient: -0.204; p < 0.001), WTW distance (coefficient: -0.236; p < 0.001) and bIOP (coefficient: -0.06; p < 0.001) were inversely associated with CV. Conclusions Our study provides an age-specific distribution of CV among healthy young Chinese adults. CCT, keratometry, AL, WTW distance and bIOP were important factors associated with CV.