Wavefront aberration and its association with intralocular pressure and central corneal thickness in myopic eyes

PURPOSE: To investigate the association between intraocular pressure (IOP), central corneal thickness (CCT), or both and wavefront aberrations in the anterior cornea and the whole eye in myopia. SETTING: Wenzhou Medical College, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China. METHODS: Seventy myopic subjects were tested with a Humphrey corneal topographer for wavefront aberrations in the anterior corneal surface and with a wavefront aberration-supported cornea ablation wavefront analyzer (Complete Ophthalmic Analysis System, Carl Zeiss Meditec) for wavefront aberrations in the whole eye. The IOP and CCT were measured with a noncontact Canon tonometer and a Tomey pachymeter, respectively. Relationships between the wavefront aberrations and the IOP and CCT were analyzed. RESULTS: Four corneal Zernike aberrations were significantly correlated with the IOP, including defocus (Z4) (r = 0.36, P<.01 for right eye; r = 0.31, P<.05 for left eye), y-axis coma (Z7) (r = 0.32, P<.05 for right eye), spherical aberration (Z12) (r = 0.34, P<.02 for both eyes), and secondary astigmatism (Z13) (r = -0.35, P<.01 for right eye; r = -0.37, P<.01 for left eye). In the whole eye, 3 Zernike aberrations were significantly correlated with IOP: trefoil (H) (r = 0.31, P<.05 for right eye), spherical aberration (Z12) (r = 0.34, P<.02 for right eye; r = 0.30, P<.05 for left eye), and secondary astigmatism (Z13) (r = -0.45, P<.01 for right eye; r = -0.30, P<.05 for left eye). However, only a single Zernike aberration (Z11) was significantly correlated with CCT (r = -0.29, P<.05 for right eye). CONCLUSIONS: Intraocular pressure was associated with wavefront aberrations in both the cornea and the whole eye, and its association was not limited to symmetrical aberrations but included asymmetric higher-order aberrations as well. In contrast, CCT was very weakly associated with wavefront aberrations.