Abstract
The aims of this study were to determine the central corneal thickness (CCT) and corneal curvature (CC) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to evaluate the correlations between the CCT, CC, RA activity, and RA duration. Fifty-four RA patients (104 eyes; 35 with dry eye, 69 without dry eye) and 21 age- and gender-matched control patients (42 eyes) were enrolled in the study. The CCT and CC were measured by ultrasonic pachymeter and autorefractor–keratometer, respectively. RA activity was assessed using the disease activity score (DAS) 28. The independent samples’ t test and Pearson correlation analysis were used in the statistical analyses. Mean CCTs were found to be 535.88 ± 38.24, 530.46 ± 32.88, 538.64 ± 40.64, and 543.40 ± 40.66 μm in all RA eyes, RA with dry eyes, RA without dry eyes, and control eyes, respectively. Mean keratometry (K) readings were found to be 43.84 ± 1.76, 43.73 ± 1.23, 43.90 ± 1.98, and 43.60 ± 1.48 D in all RA eyes, RA with dry eyes, RA without dry eyes, and control eyes, respectively. There were no significant differences in CCT values (p values, 0.293, 0.134, and 0.550, respectively) and K readings (p values, 0.435, 0.681, and 0.402, respectively) between the RA and control eyes. These findings led us to the conclusion that the CCT and K readings were not significantly associated with DAS (p values, 0.678 and 0.812, respectively) and RA duration (p values, 0.108 and 0.080, respectively). Our results show that CCTs and CCs were not significantly different between the RA eyes and control eyes. CCTs and CCs were also not associated with RA activity and RA duration.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Doughty MJ, Zaman ML (2000) Human corneal thickness and its impact on intraocular pressure measures: a review and meta-analysis approach. Surv Ophthalmol 44:367–408
Moreland LW, Curtis JR (2009) Systemic nonarticular manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis: focus on inflammatory mechanisms. Semin Arthritis Rheum 39:132–143
Harper SL, Foster CS (1998) The ocular manifestations of rheumatoid disease. Int Ophthalmol Clin 38:1–19
Villani E, Galimberti D, Viola F, Mapelli C, Del Papa N, Ratiglia R (2008) Corneal involvement in rheumatoid arthritis: an in vivo confocal study. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 49:560–564
Prata TS, Sousa AK, Garcia Filho CA (2009) Doi LM, Paranhos A Jr Assessment of corneal biomechanical properties and intraocular pressure in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Can J Ophthalmol 44:602
Ozcura F, Aydin S, Helvaci MR (2007) Ocular surface disease index for the diagnosis of dry eye syndrome. Ocul Immunol Inflamm 15:389–393
Schiffman RM, Christianson MD, Jacobsen G, Hirsch JD, Reis BL (2000) Reliability and validity of the Ocular Surface Disease Index. Arch Ophthalmol 118:615–621
Van Bijsterveld OP (1990) Diagnosis and differential diagnosis of keratoconjunctivitis sicca associated with tear gland degeneration. Clin Exp Rheumatol 8:3–6
Dayanir V, Sakarya R, Ozcura F, Kir E, Aktunç T, Ozkan BS, Okyay P (2004) Effect of corneal drying on central corneal thickness. J Glaucoma 13:6–8
Fransen J, Van Riel PLCM (2005) The disease activity score and the EULAR response criteria. Clin Exp Rheumatol 23:93–99
Lee DM, Weinblatt ME (2001) Rheumatoid arthritis. Lancet 358:903–911
Lundström E, Källberg H, Alfredsson L, Klareskog L, Padyukov L (2009) Gene-environment interaction between the DRB1 shared epitope and smoking in the risk of anti-citrullinated protein antibody-positive rheumatoid arthritis: all alleles are important. Arthritis Rheum 60:1597–1603
Turesson C, O’Fallon WM, Crowson CS, Gabriel SE, Matteson EL (2003) Extra-articular disease manifestations in rheumatoid arthritis: incidence trends and risk factors over 46 years. Ann Rheum Dis 62:722–727
Myasoedova E, Crowson CS, Turesson C, Gabriel SE, Matteson EL (2011) Incidence of extraarticular rheumatoid arthritis in Olmsted County, Minnesota, in 1995-2007 versus 1985-1994: a population-based study. J Rheumatol 38:983–989
Thompson M, Eadie S (1956) Kerato-conjunctivitis sicca and rheumatoid arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 15:21–25
Riley GP, Harrall RL, Watson PG, Cawston TE, Hazleman BL (1995) Collagenase (MMP-1) and TIMP-1 in destructive corneal disease associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Eye (Lond) 9:703–718
Boote C, Kamma-Lorger CS, Hayes S, Harris J, Burghammer M, Hiller J, Terrill NJ, Meek KM (2011) Quantification of collagen organization in the peripheral human cornea at micron-scale resolution. Biophys J 101:33–42
Asejczyk-Widlicka M, Sródka DW, Kasprzak H, Pierscionek BK (2007) Modelling the elastic properties of the anterior eye and their contribution to maintenance of image quality: the role of the limbus. Eye (Lond) 21:1087–1094
Boote C, Hayes S, Young RD, Kamma-Lorger CS, Hocking PM, Elsheikh A, Inglehearn CF, Ali M, Meek KM (2009) Ultrastructural changes in the retinopathy, globe enlarged chick cornea. J Struct Biol 166:195–204
Quantock AJ, Dennis S, Adachi W, Kinoshita S, Boote C, Meek KM, Matsushima Y, Tachibana M (2003) Annulus of collagen fibrils in mouse cornea and structural matrix alterations in a murine-specific keratopathy. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 44:1906–1911
Tuominen IS, Konttinen YT, Vesaluoma MH, Moilanen JA, Helintö M, Tervo TM (2003) Corneal innervation and morphology in primary Sjögren’s Syndrome. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 44:2545–2549
Liu Z, Pflugfelder SC (1999) Corneal thickness is reduced in dry eye. Cornea 18:403–407
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflicts of interest
The authors do not have any financial or proprietary interest in a product, method, or material mentioned in the manuscript.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Özcura, F., Aktaş, S., Özkan, Y. et al. Central corneal thickness and corneal curvature in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Int Ophthalmol 37, 159–163 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-016-0243-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-016-0243-2