Sectoral Analysis of Corneal Thickness in Glaucoma and Healthy Eyes and Its Relationship with RNFL and Rim Area

TL;DR

This study finds that corneal thickness is reduced in glaucoma eyes but does not directly correlate with retinal nerve fiber layer thickness or optic disc rim area after adjusting for other factors.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into the relationship between corneal thickness and glaucoma, suggesting it reflects susceptibility rather than direct neuroretinal damage.

Findings

Eyes with glaucoma had significantly thinner corneas in all sectors compared to healthy eyes.

No independent associations were found between corneal thickness and retinal nerve fiber layer thickness or optic disc rim area after adjustment.

Glaucoma diagnosis and severity were consistently linked to reduced retinal nerve fiber layer thickness.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: To characterize sectoral corneal thickness (CT) profiles in eyes with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) compared with healthy eyes and to evaluate potential associations between CT, retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, and optic disc rim area (RA). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 192 participants (91 with POAG and 101 controls) contributed 297 eyes (145 glaucoma eyes and 152 control eyes). All participants underwent comprehensive ophthalmological examination and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT; Optovue Solix, Fremont, CA, USA) to obtain peripapillary RNFL measurements, optic disc rim area, and corneal pachymetry maps across five sectors (central, superior, inferior, temporal, and nasal). Repeated-measures correlation analyses were used to assess within-subject associations between CT and RA, and generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were applied to evaluate independent associations between CT, glaucoma status, disease severity, and RNFL thickness while adjusting for relevant covariates. Results: Eyes with POAG exhibited significantly thinner corneas across all sectors compared with controls (all p < 0.05), with the greatest differences observed in the superior (median 607.0 μm vs. 640.0 μm, p < 0.001) and temporal (562.0 μm vs. 579.5 μm, p < 0.001) regions. Average RNFL thickness and rim area were also significantly reduced in glaucoma eyes (all p < 0.001). However, no independent associations between sectoral CT and RNFL thickness or RA were observed after adjustment for multiple comparisons. Although nominal associations between thinner inferotemporal CT and reduced RNFL thickness were observed in unadjusted analyses, these did not remain statistically significant after false discovery rate correction. In multivariable GEE models, glaucoma diagnosis and greater disease severity were consistently associated with reduced RNFL thickness (β range: −11.0 to −42.2 μm; all p < 0.001), whereas CT was not independently associated with RNFL thickness (all adjusted p > 0.07). Conclusions: Sectoral corneal thickness is significantly reduced in eyes with POAG but does not independently correlate with RNFL thickness or optic disc rim area after adjustment for confounding factors. These findings support the concept that corneal thinning reflects structural and biomechanical susceptibility to glaucoma rather than serving as a marker of established neuroretinal damage severity. Further longitudinal studies incorporating comprehensive biomechanical assessments are warranted to clarify the role of corneal structure in glaucoma pathophysiology.

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