Corneal densitometry in patients with arcus senilis and its correlation with serum lipid levels

Purpose: To evaluate corneal densitometry (CD) of patients with arcus senilis (AS) and its association with the serum lipid markers.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional, case-control study. The AS diagnosis was made clinically. Forty-five eyes of 45 patients with AS and 38 eyes of 38 age-matched control subjects with no noticeable AS were enrolled in the study. All participants underwent detailed ophthalmologic examination along with corneal Scheimpflug imaging with CD measurement. The evaluated serum lipid markers of the participants included total cholesterol, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL). The Spearman correlation analysis was used to correlate the serum lipid values and the CD. P < 0.05 was defined as statistically significant.

Results: The male to female ratio was 26/19 and 14/24 in the study and control groups, respectively (P = 0.057). The mean age was 59.56 ± 8.7 and 56.47 ± 8.6 years in the study and control groups, respectively (P = 0.117). The mean total CD values in the zones extending from 2 to 12 mm were higher in the study group than in the control group (P < 0.001). The serum HDL level was found to be significantly decreased in the study group compared to the control group (P = 0.048 and Z = -1.976). There was a significant positive correlation between the serum triglyceride level and the CD value of the outermost zone (10-12 mm) (r = 0.334 and P = 0.025).

Conclusion: The CD of patients with AS was found to increase not only in the peripheral zone but also in the cornea's paracentral zone compared to the healthy controls. The serum triglyceride level should give an insight into the intensity of arcus senilis. The serum HDL levels were decreased in patients with AS.