ABSTRACT
A cross sectional study based on 243 subjects with an age range of 20-63 years, was conducted to assess the prevalence of corneal arcus and the association between corneal arcus and dyslipidemia which is a coronary heart disease risk factor. The presence of corneal arcus was determined by hand-held slitlamp, serum lipids and serum plasma glucose collected on the same day as corneal arcus detection. Total cholesterol (CHOL), triglyceride (TG) and high density lipoprotein (HDL) were measured by enzymatic procedure, and low density lipoprotein (LDL) was estimated by the Friedewald formula. The prevalence of corneal arcus was divided into 3 age groups, 20-29 years (0%), 30-49 years (male 41.5%, female 26.13%) and 50-69 years (male 86.2%, female 59.1%) In the 30-49 year, female group, those with corneal arcus had higher serum LDL and total cholesterol concentration than those without corneal arcus. The mean difference of LDL was 22.21 mg/dl (p=0.001) and total cholesterol was 30.95 mg/dl (p=0.000). In the 30-49 year, male group people with corneal arcus had a lower serum HDL concentration than those without corneal arcus and the mean difference of the HDL was 8.6 mg/dl (p=0.014). There was no difference for corneal arcus and serum lipid in the 50-69 years group in both sexes. No association between corneal arcus and fasting plasma glucose was found in all ages and both sexes. It is concluded that while corneal arcus is primarily an aged-related change, if present in people under 50 years it should be considered for dyslipidemia which is one of the risk factors for coronary heart disease.