To evaluate the heritability of the anterior chamber depth, angle, and volume as well as the corneal volume and diameter using the Pentacam in households living in underserved rural areas of Iran.

This cross-sectional population-based study was conducted in randomly selected households living in rural areas of south and north districts. The data of subjects above 5 years and households in which at least two members (father-mother-child) had Pentacam data were analyzed. Each subject underwent a comprehensive ophthalmic examination, with emphasis on the measurement of visual acuity and refraction, biomicroscopy, and Pentacam imaging. Heritability was estimated to investigate familial aggregation of anterior chamber indices, and the effects of age, sex, and living place were controlled as confounding factors.

Of 3851 selected individuals, 3314 participated in the study. After applying the exclusion criteria, the data of 1383 subjects from 382 households were included in the analysis. The mean age of participants was 37.23±19.35 years (range: 6-93 years). The highest and lowest heritability was related to the anterior chamber angle (72%) and corneal diameter (28%), respectively. The heritability of the anterior chamber depth and volume and corneal volume was 47%, 39%, and 57%, respectively.

The high heritability of the anterior chamber angle confirms a high correlation between this phenotype and genetic factors, which can motivate researchers to conduct genetic and molecular investigations to find the related genes and understand the etiology of glaucoma.