Angle recess area decreases with age in normal Japanese.

PURPOSE To investigate prospectively the relationships between anterior chamber angle configuration and refractive error, axial length, age, and body height in the Japanese. METHODS We studied 65 eyes of 65 subjects (30 men, 35 women) who were either patients at the Ophthalmology Department of Mie University or volunteers. The 65 subjects underwent a complete eye examination, A-scan biometry, and ultrasound biomicroscopy. Images were exported to an IBM-compatible personal computer in PCX format. The angle recess area (ARA) was measured using a software program of our own design. RESULTS The ARA decreased with age in all quadrants of all eyes. In older individuals, the angle in the superior quadrant was significantly narrower than in the other quadrants. The ARA correlated directly with anterior chamber depth (P < .001), axial length (P < .001), and body height (P = .003), and inversely with age (P < .001) and refractive error (P = .003) in pairwise analysis. Multivariate analysis revealed a significant association between ARA and anterior chamber depth (P < .001), axial length (P = .016), and younger age (P = .043). CONCLUSIONS The anterior chamber area narrows with age, especially in the superior quadrant. Narrowing of the angle in Japanese is associated with older age, shorter axial length, and shallower anterior chamber depth. We hypothesize that because of the increasing prevalence of axial myopia in younger Japanese, angle-closure glaucoma could become less common in Japan in the future.