Anterior Chamber Depth in Greenland Eskimos

The remarkable prevalence of primary angle‐closure glaucoma (a.c.g.) in Greenland Eskimos called for a study of the anterior chamber depth (ACD) in this population. In the district of Umanaq the population above the age of seven was examined with a participation rate of 98%;. Optical pachymetry was performed in 1,828 eyes of 931 Eskimos with Haag Streit 900 instruments. As an introduction to further analyses the variability due to age and sex was studied. The results showed that the ACD increased through school age, achieved a maximum at puberty and decreased throughout adult life as in other populations. In contrast to previous large samples the variance of ACD increased significantly by age. No difference was found between boys and girls. In adults the ACD level was 0.16 mm shallower in females, i.e. a highly significant sex difference.