Biometry and Primary Angle-closure Glaucoma among Chinese, White, and Black Populations

Racial and Ethnic Differences in Ocular Anatomy

“…18 Lam and Goh 18 demonstrated that the presence of myopia in Asian and white school children correlates well to their longer AL. However, Chinese subjects in a study by Congdon and colleagues 19 were noted to have significantly smaller radii of corneal curvature and less hyperopia than blacks or whites, without significant differences in their AL. Again, to the contrary, a recent biometric comparative study found that Inuits tended on average to be more hyperopic and have flatter radii of corneal curvatures but also tended to have longer ALs than did blacks, Chinese, and whites.…”

Angle-closure glaucoma in East Asian and European people. Different diseases?

“…The authors suggested that factors other than ACD, such as high rates of plateau iris configuration, might explain the propensity to PAC in Chinese people. 44 This finding emphasizes that it is unlikely that a single risk factor will fully explain the inter-racial predisposition towards angle closure.…”

A review of trabeculectomy in East Asian people—the influence of race

“…65 Indeed, the preponderance of PACG over POAG is evident over much of East Asia. 64,[66][67][68] A number of biometric features associated with the development of PACG have been identified, including shallow anterior chamber, 69,70 anterior lens position, 70,71 thick lens, 72,73 smaller corneal diameter, 74,75 and short axial length. 76,77 One can imagine that trabeculectomy in eyes that have the biometric features described above are at greater risk of lenticulocorneal touch, as the anterior chamber has been shown to shallow after trabeculectomy.…”

“…There is conflicting evidence that East Asian eyes not known to have PACG may also have shallower and/or more crowded anterior chambers than Caucasians, and therefore have the same risk factors for posttrabeculectomy complications. 74,81 The main cause for failure of trabeculectomy remains excessive fibrosis at the conjunctival-scleral interface. [82][83][84][85] The differences in conjunctival cell profile between blacks and whites have already been investigated.…”