An investigation of corneal integrity in recreational divers

OBJECTIVE: To compare the corneal integrity of recreational divers and non-divers.

METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted at the St. Erik s Eye Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden, between September 2003 and February 2004. Questionnaires were randomly distributed to determine the potential diving and non-diving participants. After filling the questionnaires and giving informed consent, corneal endothelial photographs were obtained from the right eyes of the study participants (age range, 20-42 years). Aided and unaided visual acuities were obtained using the Snellen acuity chart.

RESULTS: One of the divers reported temporary blurred vision immediately after a diving session, which resolved 2 days later. The average median corneal endothelial cell size for the recreational divers was 14.3 um2 larger than that of the non-divers (p=0.43), and the mean endothelial cell density was 95.7 cells/mm2 less than the non-divers (p=0.51).

CONCLUSION: There are no significant adverse permanent effect of diving on vision amongst the recreational divers. There is an indication of polymegethism and pleomorphism among the divers, however, no significant difference in the corneal morphology of the recreational divers and the non-divers. However, a further investigation with a larger sample size is needed to confirm this.