Different Effects of Aging on Intraocular Pressures Measured by Three Different Tonometers.

This study aimed to compare intraocular pressures (IOP) using different tonometers, Goldmann applanation (IOPGAT), non-contact (IOPNCT), and rebound (IOPRBT), and to assess the effects of aging and central corneal thickness (CCT) on the measurements. The IOPGAT, IOPNCT, IOPRBT, mean patient age (65.1 ± 16.2 years), and CCT (521.7 ± 39.2 µm) were collected retrospectively from 1054 eyes. The differences among IOPs were compared by the paired t-test. Possible correlations between devices, age, and CCT were assessed by linear regression analyses. The effects of age and CCT on the IOP reading were assessed by mixed-effects regression models. The IOPGAT values were 2.4 and 1.4 mmHg higher than IOPNCT and IOPRBT, respectively; the IOPNCT was 1.0 mmHg lower than IOPRBT (p < 0.0001 for all comparisons). The IOPs measured by each tonometer were highly correlated with each other (r = 0.81-0.90, t = 45.2-65.5). The linear regression analyses showed that age was negatively correlated with IOPNCT (r = -0.12, t = -4.0) and IOPRBT (r = -0.14, t = -4.5) but not IOPGAT (r = 0.00, t = -0.2); the CCT was positively correlated with IOPGAT (r = 0.13, t = 4.3), IOPNCT (r = 0.29, t = 9.8), and IOPRBT (r = 0.22, t = 7.2). The mixed-effect regression models showed significant negative correlations between age and IOPNCT (t = -2.6) and IOPRBT (t = -3.4), no correlation between age and IOPGAT (t = 0.2), and a significant positive correlation between CCT and the tonometers (t = 3.4-7.3). No differences between IOPGAT and IOPRBT were seen at the age of 38.8 years. CCT affects IOPs from all tonometers; age affects IOPNCT and IOPRBT in different degrees. IOPRBT tended to be higher than IOPGAT in young subjects, but this stabilized in middle age and became higher in older subjects.

Citation

Kazunobu Sugihara, Masaki Tanito. Different Effects of Aging on Intraocular Pressures Measured by Three Different Tonometers. Journal of clinical medicine. 2021 Sep 17;10(18)

PMID: 34575313

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