Age-related Changes of the Corneal Endothelium in the Hispanic Elderly Population

Purpose: To assess the corneal endothelial morphometry in healthy elderly Hispanic eyes. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional, observational, descriptive, and analytical study was designed to assess the central region of the corneal endothelium by specular microscopy. A total of 241 eyes from 125 patients were studied. All eyes included were from healthy patients 65 or older (mean: 74.56 +/- 6.74), without ocular disease or surgeries. Results: The mean cell density (MCD) was 2198.92 +/- 493.43 cells/mm(2). 125 (51.87%) eyes had polymegethism, with a mean coefficient of variation (CV) of 42.89 +/- 9.16%. 148 (61.41%) eyes presented pleomorphism, with an average of 46.25 +/- 7.13% hexagonal cells. The mean corneal thickness was 527.55 +/- 28.37 mu m. A statistically significant difference between age groups was found for MCD and pachymetry (P<0.05). 41 eyes (17.01%) had cornea guttata. Conclusion: This study suggests that the elderly Hispanic population has a high prevalence of polymegethism, pleomorphism, and guttata. Surprisingly, the oldest age group (>85) had an above-average MCD, with lower rates of polymegethism and pleomorphism.