Corneal endothelial cell density and morphology in low and moderate myopic Chinese eyes

AIM: To describe and compare the corneal endothelial cell density and morphology in young, low and moderate myopic Chinese adults in Malaysian Chinese population. METHODS: Non-contact specular microscopy (Topcon SP3000P, Tokyo, Japan) was performed in low (n=78; 21.22 +/- 1.51 years) and moderate (n=78; 21.82 +/- 1.40 years) myopic subjects. The mean of three consecutive measurements of endothelial cell density (MCD), coefficient of variation (CV) in the cell size, and hexagonal appearance of the cell were obtained. RESULTS: In low myopic eyes the MCD was 3 063.0 +/- 176.2/mm(2), the mean CV was 33.4 +/- 4.0% and the mean hexagonal appearance of the cell was 57.9 +/- 2.7%. In moderate myopic eyes the MCD was 2961.6 +/- 159.0/mm(2), the mean CV was 33.9 +/- 3.6% and mean hexagonal appearance of the cell was 56.2 +/- 4.7%. There were statistically significant differences in MCD (P<0.000) and hexagonal appearance of the cell (P<0.005) between low and moderate myopic eyes. CONCLUSION: The corneal endothelial cell layer in more myopic eyes tends to have less MCD and cell hexagonality compared to lower myopic eyes. Nevertheless, there is no significant difference in CV between low and moderate myopic eyes.