Effect of age on components of peripheral ocular aberrations.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of age on the contributions of the anterior cornea and internal components to ocular aberrations in the peripheral visual field.
Methods: Ocular aberrations were measured in 10 young emmetropes and 7 older emmetropes using a modified commercial Hartmann-Shack aberrometer across 42° × 32° of central visual field. Anterior corneal aberrations were estimated from anterior corneal topography using theoretical ray-tracing. Internal aberrations were calculated by subtracting anterior corneal aberrations from ocular aberrations.
Results: Anterior corneal aberrations of young subjects were reasonably compensated by the internal aberrations, except for astigmatism for which the internal contribution was small out to the 21° field limit. The internal coma and spherical aberration of the older subjects were considerably smaller in magnitude than those of the young subjects such that the compensation for anterior corneal aberrations was poorer. This can be explained by age-related changes in the lens shape and refractive index distribution.
Conclusions: Loss of balance between anterior cornea and internal components of higher order aberrations with increasing age, found previously for on-axis vision, applies also to the peripheral visual field.