To compare the corneal biomechanical properties of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with those of healthy controls.
Measurements of 39 eyes of 39 RA patients (patient group) were compared with those of 55 eyes of 55 healthy controls (control group). Corneal hysteresis (CH), corneal resistance factor (CRF), intraocular pressure (IOP), and corneal-compensated IOP (IOPcc) were obtained for each subject by the ocular response analyzer (ORA). Corneal thickness (CCT) was measured by ultrasonic pachymeter.
CH and CRF were significantly lower in the patient group than in the control group (p1 = 0.002, p2 = 0.019, respectively). The patient group had significantly higher IOPcc values than the control group (p = 0.024). There was no significant differences between the groups concerning CCT and IOP.
RA patients had lower CH and CRF, but higher IOPcc values than healthy controls. RA should be considered when the corneal biomechanical properties measured by the ORA are used for diagnoses or therapies.