EC Clinical and Medical Case Reports

Purpose: To determine the structural changes of the anterior chamber angle (ACA) and anterior chamber depth (ACD) associated with caffeine consumption among young Saudi healthy subjects by using Pentacam.

Method: A total of 35 female healthy Saudis participated in this prospective cross-sectional study. Subjects were aged between 18 and 30 years, they were recruited from King Saud University (KSU Girls Campus), Riyadh, in optometry department clinics. All subjects had normal ocular surface, spherical equivalent < ± 4.00DS, free from systemic diseases. Subjects fasted from caffeine for at least 24 hours and discontinued wearing contact lenses for three days before the test. Measurements of ACA and ACD were taken for at least four hours from waking up. Pentacam was used to measure the ACA and ACD, then the subjects drank a cup of coffee that contains 240 mg of caffeine and the second measurement was taken at sixty minutes later. For statistical analysis, paired t-test was used, and P-value < 0.05 considered significant.

Result: The mean age of participants was 20.9 ± 42.04. The results showed that a single cup of coffee that contains 240 mg of caffeine not significantly change the parameters of ACA and ACD after 60 minutes. The mean of ACA at baseline measurement was 38.43° ± 5.09 and increased after 60 minutes to 38.47° ± 4.85 with a mean difference of (0.04° and P-value = 0.903). The mean of ACD at baseline measurement was 3.02 mm ± 0.29 and decreased after 60 minutes to 2.98 mm ± 0.30 with a mean difference of (0.03 mm and P-value = 0.141).

Conclusion: The results of this study showed no significant differences in increasing ACA and reduction of ACD in healthy subjects after drinking an acute dose of caffeine (240 mg/80 ml of water). We recommend further research to study the effect of caffeine on large sample size and on subjects at high risk for glaucoma onset or progression.

 Keywords: Caffeine; ACD; ACA; Pentacam; Healthy Saudi Subjects

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