The Influence of Eyelid Morphology on Normal Corneal Shape

PURPOSE. To investigate associations between the topography of the cornea and the morphology of the eyelids in a population of young adult subjects with a range of refractive errors. METHODS. Corneal topography data and digital images of the anterior eye were acquired for 100 young adult subjects. The corneal topography data and palpebral fissure images were analyzed to determine a range of parameters describing the shape of the cornea and the morphology of the palpebral fissure. Correlation analysis was carried out to investigate for significant associations between the parameters describing the topography of the cornea and the parameters describing the morphology of the palpebral fissure. RESULTS. A number of highly significant correlations were found between the best-fitting corneal spherocylinder and the eyelid morphology parameters. The corneal best-fit sphere (M) was significantly correlated with the horizontal palpebral fissure width (r = –0.428; P < 0.001). Corneal astigmatism power vector J45 was significantly correlated with the angle of the palpebral fissure (r = 0.392; P < 0.001). The axis of corneal astigmatism was also found to be significantly correlated with the angle of the palpebral fissure (r = 0.317; P = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS. A number of significant associations exist between the corneal spherocylinder and the morphology of the eyelids in a normal adult population