Purpose To describe the distribution of anterior chamber biometric characteristics in children and adults using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT).
Method Nine hundred and thirty-three children aged 8 to 16 years and 652 adults aged 30 to 68 years were identified from a population-based twin study. AS-OCT was used to collect one horizontal scan and the images were analyzed using custom software. A generalized estimating equation model was used to adjust for intra-pair correlation.
Results The angle opening distance, iris thickness, iris curvature, anterior chamber width and anterior chamber depth were 0.670±0.236 mm, 0.406±0.062mm, -0.025±0.138 mm, 11.70±0.42 mm and 3.15±0.27 mm respectively in children. These values were 0.426±0.214 mm, 0.440±0.067 mm, 0.102±0.164 mm, 11.65±0.40 mm and 2.83±0.32 mm in adults. After adjusting for gender, older children were found to have wider angles, deeper anterior chambers and more concave irides. Older adults tended to have narrower angles, shallower anterior chambers and more convex irides. Iris thickness and anterior chamber width did not change with age in both children and adults. Females had narrower angles, shallower anterior chambers, and thinner and more convex irides in both children and adults. Conclusions The pattern of angle width with age was opposite in children and adults while the gender effects were similar.