Ageing is linked with fat volume and orbital bony cavity volume in Caucasians

Increase in fat volume (FV) and minor reductions in muscle volume (MV) and orbital bony cavity volume (OV) is strongly associated with advancing age in Caucasians, states a paper published in British Journal of Ophthalmology.

A team led by Dr Noortje Regensburg, Orbital Centre, Department of Ophthalmology, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, gathered data from computed tomographic scans of 160 orbits of 107 patients. In the study there were 52 men and 55 women aged between 20 and 80 years. OV, FV and MV were measured and evaluated using the computer software program Mimics.

Male patients presented with a significantly larger OV, FV and MV than female patients. However, the relationship between FV/OV and MV/OV were statistically similar in both males and females.

FV significantly increased with patient age in both sexes. MV/OV ratios and FV/OV ratios calculated by linear regression analysis demonstrated a significant correlation with age.