Ersan, IsmailArikan, SedatKara, SelcukGencer, BaranKoklu, AsiyeTufan, Hasan Ali2025-01-272025-01-2720160816-46221444-0938https://doi.org/10.1111/cxo.12363https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12428/24321Background The aim was to evaluate the corneal and bulbar conjunctival thicknesses of soft contact lens (SCL) wearers using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT). Methods The epithelial and overall thicknesses of both the central cornea and the infero-temporal bulbar conjunctiva of SCL wearers (30 subjects) were obtained by Cirrus HD-OCT and compared with those of refraction-matched controls (30 subjects) and patients with emmetropia (30 subjects). Results The mean corneal epithelial thicknesses in SCL wearing, spectacle-wearing and emmetropic groups were 48.97 +/- 5.45, 52.18 +/- 4.84 and 53.18 +/- 5.05 mu m, respectively. The corneal epithelium of members of the SCL group was significantly thinner than in both the spectacles and emmetropic groups (p = 0.044 and 0.006, respectively), whereas the central corneal thickness did not differ between groups (p = 0.210). The mean conjunctival epithelial thicknesses in SCL, spectacles and emmetropic groups were 41.50 +/- 7.75, 54.33 +/- 8.39 and 49.10 +/- 7.11 mu m, respectively. Conjunctival epithelium in the SCL group was significantly thinner than in both spectacle-wearing and emmetropic groups (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). The conjunctiva was significantly thinner in the SCL group compared to the spectacles group (p = 0.001) but not the emmetropic group. Conclusions Contact lens wear is related to thinning of both corneal and conjunctival layers. AS-OCT is a non-invasive and clinically applicable technique for assessing the involvement of the cornea and conjunctiva in contact lens wearers.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessanterior segment optical coherence tomographyconjunctivacorneaepithelial thicknesssoft contact lensArticle99656456710.1111/cxo.12363Q4WOS:0006404966000122-s2.0-8496259210427029024Q2