Purpose: To evaluate mean central corneal thickness (CCT) in a Puerto Rican population and to compare our findings with published mean central corneal thicknesses of white, Hispanic, and African American populations in the United States.
Patients and methods: Volunteers at the Centro Médico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, completed a survey and participated in an eye examination, which included measurement of intraocular pressure and central corneal thickness.
Results: Of 588 Puerto Rican participants, the mean CCT was 541+/-33 microm, which is significantly thinner than the published values for white populations (P<0.002) and Hispanic populations (P<0.03), but thicker than the published values for African Americans (P<0.05). Among ethnic subgroups in Puerto Rico, no significant differences in the mean CCT were observed.
Conclusions: In this Puerto Rican population, the mean observed CCT was thicker than that published for African Americans, but thinner than those for white and other Hispanic populations within the United States.