Prevalence of corneal astigmatism and axial length in cataract surgery candidates in Turkey

Objective. To analyze the corneal astigmatism and axial length values in cataract surgery candidates. Methods: The files of patients who undergone cataract surgery between November 2012 and November 2013 were retrospectively selected and reviewed. The preoperative corneal keratometry measurements in the flat and steep axis and the axial lengths of the patients were recorded. Results. The study comprised of 449 eyes of 449 patients with a mean age of 68.6±9.8 (range; 40-90) years. The mean axial length value was 23.1±1.0 mm; mean corneal astigmatism was 1.00±0.70 D. The corneal astigmatism was 1.00 D or less in 315 eyes (70.1%); between 1.00 and 2.00 D in 99 eyes (22%); and 2.00 D or more in 35 eyes (8%). With-the-rule astigmatism was present in 51% of the patients, against-the-rule astigmatism was present in 32% of the patients, and oblique astigmatism was present in 17% of the patients. We observed an increase in against-the-rule astigmatism (p=0.032) and oblique astigmatism with age (p=0.040). Conclusions. The current study is the most populous study in this field of research ever carried out in our country. The mean axial length in our study in comparison to Chinese and German populations was found to be shorter.