Pediatric central corneal thickness variation among major ethnic populations.

Objective: To investigate differences in central corneal thickness (CCT) among African-American, Caucasian, and Hispanic pediatric populations with respect to race, age, and gender.

Methods: Ultrasound pachymetry measurements were obtained on 208 eyes of 106 patients. Measurements from left eyes were used in data analysis. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and two-tailed t-test were performed to determine the effect of race, age, and gender on CCT variation.

Results: Mean central corneal thickness of left eyes in each ethnic group was African-Americans, 523 +/- 40 microm; Caucasians, 563 +/- 36 microm; and Hispanics, 568 +/- 44 microm. ANOVA performed on pachymetry values showed a significant effect of race on CCT (P = 0.00002). Mean Hispanic CCT was greater than mean African-American CCT (P = 0.0003), but was not significantly different from Caucasian CCT (P = 0.56). Mean Caucasian CCT was also greater than mean African-American CCT (P = 0.0001). The difference between mean male CCT (548 +/- 41 microm) and mean female CCT (563 +/- 44 microm) did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.07). When patients were stratified into age groups (<2 years, 2 to 4 years, 5 to 9 years, 10 to 18 years), CCT did not vary with age (P = 0.16).

Conclusions: Our study suggests there may be differences in CCT among different ethnic groups in the pediatric population, with African-Americans having thinner corneas than Caucasians and Hispanics.