Abstract

Brief note on Corneal ectasia in mothers of children with Down syndrome

Author(s): Anette Jacobs

In this study, corneal results for Keratoconus (KC) and early KC were compared between Mothers With Down Syndrome Children (MDS) and a group of age-matched mothers with normal children (MNC). A clinical symptom and at least one aberrant tomographic or biomechanical criteria were used to diagnose KC. Early KC was characterised as having no clinical signs but at least one aberrant tomographic or biomechanical criteria. The tomographic and biomechanical characteristics of the normal subgroups in each group were compared. The prevalence rates for KC in MDS and MNC were 6.5% and 1.6%, respectively (P=0.047), and 30.9% and 14.3%, respectively (P=0.014). The mean index of height asymmetry, irregularity index, anterior asphericity, pentacam random forest index, corneal stiffness parameters at fi rst applanation, deformation amplitude ra tios, integrated radius-1 mm, highest concavity deflection amplitude, biomechanical corrected IOP, peak distance, and radius (all P 0.05) differed significantly between the two normal subgroups. In this study, MDS was shown to be more likely to have KC as well as thinner, steeper, and softer corneas than MNC. This study's findings underscore the need for more research into the risks of having a child with Down syndrome.