Influence of age on measured anatomical and physiological interpupillary distance (far and near), and near heterophoria, in Arab males

Agreement and inter-session repeatability of manual and automatic interpupillary distance measurements

BACKGROUND

Interpupillary distance (IPD) is important in developmental anatomy, genetics, design of optical instrumentation, ocular diagnostics, and optical prescribing. IPD frequently is measured on different days, and by either automatic pupillometers (physiological measurement) or manual ruler (anatomical measurement). Therefore, there is importance in the agreement and inter-session repeatability of manual and automatic IPD measurements.

METHODS

Monocular distance from the bridge of the nose and binocular distance and near binocular IPD were randomly measured, using a millimeter ruler and the Essilor Pupillon pupillometer. Gender effects were assessed using Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney tests, respectively. Agreement was assessed using Spearman correlation and Bland-Altman (B&A) plots. Thirty additional participants were tested within 1-2 weeks to determine the inter-session repeatability.

RESULTS

The agreement study included 199 participants (mean age: 24.1 ± 5.0 range: 19-53, 58 male, 141 female) and the repeatability sub- study included 30 (mean age: 27.9 ± 4.5, range: 23-39, 6 male, 24 female). Males and females significantly differed in age (<2 year mean difference (md)) and IPD (monocular md: < 1 mm, binocular md: < 2 mm). Manual vs. automatic measurements were significantly different for all conditions (md: <1 mm for all) except for distance left eye male PD. There was no significant difference between the session for both methods.

CONCLUSIONS

Binocular and monocular manual and automatic measurements were significantly different statistically, but not clinically. Distance binocular IPD was approximately 3 mm wider than near IPD. Male binocular IPD was approximately 2 mm wider than the female IPD. Both methods had good inter-session repeatability.

Evaluation of interpupillary distance in the Turkish population

Purpose

The aim of this study was to report normative values and ranges of interpupillary distance (IPD) in different age groups of a Turkish population.

Methods

A total of 756 healthy subjects were included in this prospective study. After a complete ophthalmic evaluation, subjects were divided into four age groups to assess differences between age groups in relation to IPD. The age groups were 20–30, 31–50, 51–70, and 71–89 years. Far IPD measurements were performed using an autorefractometer (Topcon RM-8800).

Results

The mean age was 48.42±20.55 years, ranging from 19 to 89 years. The mean IPD was calculated as 62.5±4.1 mm (range 49–76). The mean IPD value was observed to be significantly higher among males compared to females (P<0.001). The difference among groups in terms of mean IPD was statistically significant (P<0.001). IPD increased by 4.19 mm in males and 3.11 mm in females from the young adults (20–30 years) to older adults (51–70 years), and then a decrease (2.6 and 0.19 mm for males and females, respectively) occurred between 70 and 89 years of age.

Conclusion

The current study offers the population-specific normative data on far IPD in different age groups. Our study showed that sex and age had a significant effect on IPD. Knowledge of normal values in this population subgroup may be useful in studying orbito-cranial growth patterns, syndrome diagnosis, surgical management of cranio-facial deformities and trauma, and manufactures of optical frames and lenses.