Abstract :
Background:Myopia significantly impacts various ocular structures, with the corneal endothelium being one of the least studied aspects in past research. The Aim of this study is to analyse corneal endothelial cell parameters: Endothelial Cell Density (ECD), Hexagonality (HEX), Coefficient of Variation (CV), and Average Cell Size (AVG) and to study correlation between ECD and axial length (AL) in young myopes presenting to tertiary hospital in urban western Maharashtra.Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted on 132 myopic eyes of patients aged 18-30 years. Myopes were then categorised into: mild, moderate, and severe grade with 44 eyes in each group. Age and gender matched emmetropic patient’s 132 eyes were included as control group. ECD, HEX, CV, and AVG of corneal endothelium were assessed via specular microscopy (non-contact) and AL was determined using optical biometry in all participants.Results: In myopic eyes, there was reduction in ECD (2817.53 cells/mm²), a lower HEX (54.05%), alongside a rise in CV (33.39%) and AVG (331.48 cells/mm³) when compared to emmetropic eyes, with a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001). As the degree of myopia increases from mild to severe grade, both ECD and HEX showed a significant statistical decrease (p < 0.001), while CV and AVG increased with (p < 0.001). A statistically significant negative correlation was observed between ECD and AL in myopic eyes (r = -0.482, p < 0.05).Conclusion: Alterations in the characteristics of corneal endothelial cells have been observed in individuals with myopia. Hence, we recommend routine evaluation of corneal endothelium in myopic patients.
Keyword :
Corneal endothelium, Myopia, Endothelial cell density, Hexagonality, Coefficient of variation, Average cell size, Axial length.