Table 3.
Subgroup analysis of CNFL, CNFD, and CNBD by age, type of IVCM, software used, and types of NNAI diseases.
| Subgroup | Group by | CNFL | CNFD | CNBD | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | WMD (95%CI) | I 2 | N | WMD (95%CI) | I 2 | N | WMD (95%CI) | I 2 | ||
| Age | ||||||||||
| 10–20 | 5 | −2.32 (−4.06, −0.59) | 76.0 | 5 | −3.18 (−6.27, −0.08) | 76.3 | 5 | −10.13 (−18.03, −2.24) | 73.9 | |
| 30–40 | 8 | −3.39 (−4.52, 2.26) | 68.9 | 7 | −4.72 (−6.93, −2.52) | 74.7 | 7 | −8.14 (−16.10, −0.18) | 76.3 | |
| 40–50 | 6 | −4.22 (−5.33, −3.12) | 80.6 | 5 | −9.38 (−12.59, −6.17) | 86.5 | 5 | −18.30 (−24.61, −11.99) | 83.9 | |
| 50–60 | 9 | −7.01 (−10.47, −3.55) | 94.3 | 9 | −8.75 (−15.62, −1.87) | 94.6 | 3 | 1.61 (−9.44, 12.66) | 81.6 | |
| >60 | 3 | −2.85 (−5.26, −0.44) | 92.1 | / | / | / | / | / | / | |
| Type of IVCM | ||||||||||
| LSCM | 25 | −4.51 (−5.49, −3.52) | 94.6 | 20 | −7.44 (−9.50, −5.38) | 91.6 | 15 | −13.56 (−17.22, −9.90) | 79.3 | |
| SSCM | 6 | −2.26 (−3.10, −1.43) | 26.1 | 6 | −6.25 (−10.84, −1.66) | 86.2 | 6 | −2.34 (−9.13, 4.46) | 50.9 | |
| Software used | ||||||||||
| CCMetrics | 13 | −3.80 (−5.02, −2.58) | 80.7 | 10 | −4.81 (−7.75, −1.87) | 83.2 | 11 | −15.16 (−21.00, −9.32) | 77.2 | |
| Built-in software | / | / | / | 2 | −8.41 (−16.94, 0.11) | 43.1 | / | / | / | |
| ACCMetrics | 5 | −2.24 (−3.10, −1.39) | 73.6 | 5 | −4.98 (−6.53, −3.43) | 67.1 | 5 | −10.64 (−16.04, −5.24) | 84.8 | |
| Image J | 9 | −6.19 (−9.04, −3.34) | 95.3 | 5 | −7.35 (−16.32, 1.62) | 96.9 | 2 | 9.87 (5.63, 14.12) | 0.0 | |
| Cell Count software | / | / | / | 2 | −14.95 (−20.75, −9.14) | 72.7 | / | / | / | |
| Types of NNAI diseases | ||||||||||
| Type 1 diabetes | 18 | −4.14 (−5.14, −3.14) | 90.3 | 13 | −4.95 (−6.53, −3.37) | 84.1 | 14 | −13.49 (−17.93, −9.05) | 83.7 | |
| Sjögren's Syndrome | 8 | −3.74(−5.71, −1.78) | 92.6 | 10 | −11.45 (−18.02, −4.87) | 94.1 | 4 | −0.42 (−10.32, 9.48) | 82.3 | |
N, number; CNFL, corneal nerve fiber length; CNFD, corneal nerve fiber density; CNBD, corneal nerve branch density; WMD, weighted mean difference; CI, confidence interval; IVCM, in vivo confocal microscopy; LSCM, laser scanning confocal microscopy; SSCM, slit scanning confocal microscopy; NNAI, non-neurological autoimmune (diseases).