Anterior chamber depth and chamber angle and their associations with ocular and general parameters: The Beijing eye study

PURPOSE: To investigate the normative data of anterior chamber depth (ACD) and angle width and their associations in Chinese adults. DESIGN: Population,based study. METHODS: The Beijing Eye Study 2006 included 3,251 subjects (73.3%) (aged 45+ years) out of 4,439 subjects who participated in the 2001 survey and who returned for reexamination. The subjects underwent an ophthalmologic examination including measurement of the anterior chamber dimensions by slit-lamp,based optical coherence tomography (OCT). RESULTS: Out of the 3,251 subjects, OCT measurements were available for 2,985 subjects (91.8%). Mean ACD measured 2.42 +/- L 034 mm and the mean anterior chamber angle (ACA) was 38.3 +/- 16.3 degrees. In multivariate analysis, a shallow chamber depth was significantly associated with age (P < .001), hyperopic refractive error (P < .001), female gender (P < .001), short body stature (P =.003), nuclear cataract (P =.03), central corneal thickness [CCT] (P < .001), large optic disk (P <.001), and presence of chronic angle-closure glaucoma (P <.001). Correspondingly, a narrow ACA was associated with age (P <.001), female gender (P <.001), hyperopia (P <.001), nuclear cataract (P <.001), short body stature (P =.001), large optic disk (P <.001), and angle,closure glaucoma (P <.001). Chamber depth and angle width were not associated with presence of age-related maculopathy and diabetic retinopathy. CONCLUSIONS: A shallow anterior chamber and a narrow chamber angle in Chinese adults are associated with age, female gender, hyperopia, nuclear cataract, small optic disk, short body stature, CCT, and chronic angle,closure glaucoma. These data may be helpful to explain anatomic relationships of the anterior segment of the eye, and to elucidate risk factors of angle-closure glaucoma.