Corneal Characteristics of Myopic Malay School Children and Their Association with Axial Length

Introduction: Corneal characteristics are unique to each eye and can vary among different levels of refractive errors. However, minimal data are available in the literature on corneal characteristics in myopic Malay school children including the difference between the low myopic group and the moderate myopic group. Therefore, this study aims to determine the corneal characteristics of myopic Malay school children and their associations with axial length. Methods: A total of eighty-four data samples were extracted from forty-two myopic Malay school children. Measurements of the central corneal thickness (CCT), corneal curvature, corneal diameter, and axial length were measured using Lenstar LS900, a noncontact optical biometer. Data were later stratified by the spherical equivalent refraction (SER) into a low myopic group and a moderate myopic group, and paired t-test were employed to determine the differences in the corneal characteristics between these two groups. Univariate and multivariate linear regressions were performed to identify factors that are significantly associated with axial length. Results: There was no significant difference in the CCT, corneal curvature and corneal diameter between the low myopic group and the moderate myopic group (t82=0.015, P=0.99), (t82=-0.802, P=0.43) and (t82=-0.575, P=0.57), respectively. Pearson univariate correlation analysis found that axial length significantly correlated with corneal curvature (r=-0.765, P<0.001) and corneal diameter (r=0.614, P<0.001) but no significant correlation found with CCT (r=0.046, P=0.68). Multiple regression analysis showed that axial length was significantly associated with a flatter corneal curvature (P<0.001), older age (P<0.001) and larger corneal diameter (P=0.02). Conclusion: This study reported the corneal characteristics in myopic Malay school children and its associations with axial length. Results of this study can serve as a reference value for the myopic Malay schoolchild population.