Objective To investigate the distribution characteristics and related factors of corneal epithelial thickness in a population with healthy eyes. Methods An epithelial thickness profile was measured by RTVue 100-2 Fourier-domain optical coherence topography （FD-OCT）， scanning across the central 6.0-mm diameter of the cornea of 199 patients with normal， healthy eyes. The corneal epithelial thickness was evaluated in 17 areas： 1） one central zone within 0-2.0 mm diameters， 2） eight paracentral zones from 2.0-5.0 mm diameters， and 3） eight peripheral zones from 5.0-6.0 mm diameters. The epithelial thickness for the right and left eyes of the same patient was compared. Correlations of epithelial thickness with gender， age， spherical equivalent （SE）， corneal-compensated intraocular pressure （IOPcc） and corneal thickness were calculated in 17 areas. Results The central， paracentral， and peripheral epithelial thickness averages were 54.51±3.40， 53.84±3.29， and 53.08±3.07 µm for right eyes and 54.34±3.28， 53.85±3.22 and 53.27±3.11 µm for left eyes. The average epithelial thickness map showed that the corneal epithelium was thicker nasally than temporally （P<0.01）， thicker inferiorly than superiorly （P<0.01） and thicker in the 2.0~5.0 mm diameter than in the 5.0~6.0 mm diameter （righteyes F=9.620， P<0.01； lefteyes： F=5.387， P<0.01）. All epithelial thickness indicators had statistically significant differences between males and females in the 16 areas （P<0.05） except for the superior temporally at the peripheral zones. The epithelial thickness was greater in males than in females. There was no statistically significant difference between right and left eyes （P>0.05）. The female epithelial thickness and corneal thickness showed positive correlations in the central zone （r=0.207， P<0.05）. Positive correlations were also found in inferior temporally （r=0.282， P<0.01）， inferiorly （r=0.276， P<0.01） and inferior nasally （r=0.225， P<0.05） at the paracentral zones. No correlations were found between epithelial thickness and age， SE or IOPcc. Conclusion The thickness mapping of the corneal epithelium demonstrates that the epithelial thickness is not evenly distributed across the cornea； the epithelium is significantly thicker in the central area compared to the peripheral， thicker inferiorly than superiorly and thicker nasally than temporally. The distribution of the corneal epithelium is a mirror symmetry between the right and left eyes， and is thicker in males than in females.
许琛琛,吴斯琪,王勤美. 正常人眼角膜上皮层厚度的分布及其相关因素[J]. 中华眼视光学与视觉科学杂志, 2015, 17(12): 712-716.
Xu Chenchen*,Wu Siqi,Wang Qinmei. Distribution and related factors of corneal epithelial thickness in a population with normal eyes. Chinese Journal of Optometry Ophthalmology and Visual science, 2015, 17(12): 712-716. DOI: 10.3760/cma.j.issn.1674-845X.2015.12.003
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