To evaluate the corneal biomechanical properties and clinical characteristic of normal tension glaucoma (NTG) in young patients.

We compared corneal biomechanical properties using an Ocular response analyzer (ORA) of under age 40 of 37 eyes of patients with NTG and 42 eyes of normal group.

The mean corneal resistance factor (CRF) and mean corneal hysteresis (CH) were significantly lower in NTG eyes (CRF, 9.2 ± 2.1 mm Hg; CH, 9.8 ± 1.8 mm Hg) than in normal eyes (CRF, 10.7 ± 2.3 mm Hg; CH, 10.9 ± 2.0 mm Hg; p = 0.01, p < 0.01). CH and CRF were associated with central corneal thickness (CCT) (CH; β = 0.354, p < 0.01, CRF; β = 0.348, p < 0.01) and glaucoma status ( p < 0.01, p < 0.01).

The CRF and CH were significantly lower in NTG group while IOP cc was not significantly different between the group. In diagnosing the NTG in young patients, ORA maybe useful for distinguishing between the glaucoma eyes and normal eyes.