Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Frequency and Distribution of Corneal Astigmatism and Keratometry Features: Methodology and Findings of the UK Biobank Study

View ORCID ProfileNikolas Pontikos, Sharon Chua, Paul J Foster, Stephen J Tuft, Alexander C Day, UK Biobank Eye and Vision Consortium
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/654236
Nikolas Pontikos
1UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, 11-43 Bath Street, London EC1V 9EL, UK
2NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Moorfields Eye Hospital, London EC1V 2PD, UK
PhD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Nikolas Pontikos
Sharon Chua
1UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, 11-43 Bath Street, London EC1V 9EL, UK
2NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Moorfields Eye Hospital, London EC1V 2PD, UK
PhD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Paul J Foster
1UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, 11-43 Bath Street, London EC1V 9EL, UK
2NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Moorfields Eye Hospital, London EC1V 2PD, UK
PhD FRCS(Ed)
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Stephen J Tuft
1UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, 11-43 Bath Street, London EC1V 9EL, UK
2NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Moorfields Eye Hospital, London EC1V 2PD, UK
MD FRCOphth
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Alexander C Day
1UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, 11-43 Bath Street, London EC1V 9EL, UK
2NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Moorfields Eye Hospital, London EC1V 2PD, UK
PhD FRCOphth
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: alex.day@ucl.ac.uk
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

Purpose To describe corneal astigmatism in the UK Biobank population, to look for associations with other biometric variables and socio-demographic factors, and to report the proportion with abnormal keratometry and irregular astigmatism suggestive of pathological corneal ectasias such as keratoconus.

Methods Cross-sectional data were obtained from UK Biobank (www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/). A subsample of 107,452 participants from UK communities had undergone an enhanced ophthalmic examination including autorefractor keratometry (Tomey RC 5000, Tomey Corp., Nagoya, Japan). After quality control and applying relevant exclusions, data on corneal astigmatism on 83,751 participants was available for analysis. Potential associations were tested through univariable regression and significant parameters carried forward for multivariable analysis.

Results In a univariable analysis, the characteristics significantly protective against corneal astigmatism were gender (male), older age, darker skin colour and increased alcohol intake (all p<0.001). The parameters significantly associated with increased corneal astigmatism were older age at completion of full time education, use of UV protection and lower corrected visual acuity. After inclusion in the multivariable analysis, age, gender, age at completion of full time education, corrected visual acuity and skin colour remained significant (all p<0.001). Increased corneal astigmatism was also found to be significantly associated with amblyopia or strabismus. No individuals with abnormal keratometry or irregular astigmatism were reported.

Conclusions This analysis of associations with astigmatism in a large cohort of volunteers confirms previous associations including adverse associations with younger age and female gender, and identified novel associations including darker skin colour and frequency of alcohol intake. The highest risk group for corneal astigmatism were younger females of lighter skin colour, having completed full time education later, with higher logMAR corrected visual acuity. We also confirmed that corneal astigmatism is a high risk factor for amblyopia and strabismus. Finally since no cases of keratoconus were identified, this would suggest that simple keratometry indices may not be sufficient for population screening of keratoconus.

Footnotes

  • Funding: This work was funded in part by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. The UK Biobank Eye and Vision Consortium was supported by a grant from The Special Trustees of Moorfields Eye Hospital (now Moorfields Eye Charity). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health.

  • Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted May 29, 2019.
Download PDF
Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Frequency and Distribution of Corneal Astigmatism and Keratometry Features: Methodology and Findings of the UK Biobank Study
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Frequency and Distribution of Corneal Astigmatism and Keratometry Features: Methodology and Findings of the UK Biobank Study
Nikolas Pontikos, Sharon Chua, Paul J Foster, Stephen J Tuft, Alexander C Day, UK Biobank Eye and Vision Consortium
bioRxiv 654236; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/654236
Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Frequency and Distribution of Corneal Astigmatism and Keratometry Features: Methodology and Findings of the UK Biobank Study
Nikolas Pontikos, Sharon Chua, Paul J Foster, Stephen J Tuft, Alexander C Day, UK Biobank Eye and Vision Consortium
bioRxiv 654236; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/654236

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Epidemiology
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (4654)
  • Biochemistry (10299)
  • Bioengineering (7614)
  • Bioinformatics (26190)
  • Biophysics (13446)
  • Cancer Biology (10620)
  • Cell Biology (15335)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (8452)
  • Ecology (12755)
  • Epidemiology (2067)
  • Evolutionary Biology (16763)
  • Genetics (11356)
  • Genomics (15400)
  • Immunology (10548)
  • Microbiology (25041)
  • Molecular Biology (10152)
  • Neuroscience (54097)
  • Paleontology (398)
  • Pathology (1655)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2877)
  • Physiology (4314)
  • Plant Biology (9197)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1581)
  • Synthetic Biology (2541)
  • Systems Biology (6752)
  • Zoology (1452)