Corneal endothelial cell morphology in patients undergoing cataract surgery

Purpose. To evaluate the effect of age, gender, axial length, and presence of type IT diabetes on corneal endothelial cell morphology inpatients undergoing cataract surgery. Methods. The corneal endothelial cell morphology was investigated in 1,819 eyes of 1,394 patients before cataract surgery. The parameters examined include cell density, coefficient of variation of cell area, and percentage of hexagonal cells, The effects of age, gender, axial length, and presence of type II diabetes on these parameters were evaluated. Results. The mean values in endothelial cell density, coefficient of variation of cell area, and percentage of hexagonal cells in all eyes, were 2,543 254 cells/mm(2) (range, 1906-3,252), 0.64+/-0.10 (range, 0.34-1.00), and 37.9+/-7.1% (range, 17.6-61.7), respectively. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that age was the only explanatory variable to be relevant to corneal endothelial cell density (R=-0.201, p<0.0001), coefficient of variation of cell area (R=0.066, p=0.0046), and percentage of hexagonal cells (R=-0.086, p=0.0002). The other variables, including gender, axial length, and presence of type II diabetes mellitus, were found to be irrelevant to any of the parameters of corneal endothelial cells. Conclusions. Age is the major relevant factor in corneal endothelial cell morphology in patients before cataract surgery.