Abstract
Purpose :
This analysis describes the relationship between peripheral refractive error and peripheral eye length in myopic children.
Methods :
Subjects were 294 myopic children with a mean age (±SD) of 10.3 ± 1.2 years. Central spherical-equivalent (SE) refractive error was the mean of 5 measurements in primary gaze using a Grand Seiko WAM-5500 autorefractor following instillation of two drops of tropicamide 1%. Peripheral SE refractive error was the mean of 5 measurements assessed at 20°, 30°, and 40° nasal and temporal retina and 20°, 30° superior and inferior retina. Eye length was the mean of 5 measurements made with a Haag-Streit Lenstar LS-900 biometer in primary gaze, then at 20° and 30° laterally and vertically.
Results :
Central SE refractive error was -2.42 ± 1.03 D and central eye length was 24.48 ± 0.81 mm. Peripheral SE refractive error became relatively more hyperopic away from the fovea laterally (by +1.82 ± 1.44 D at 40° temporal retina) but was relatively more myopic in the vertical meridian (by -0.59 ± 1.20 D at 30° inferior retina). Consistent with the relative hyperopic shift in the lateral periphery, eye length decreased by as much as -0.76 ± 0.24 mm at 30° temporal retina. The relative myopia vertically was associated with smaller decreases in eye length (-0.43 ± 0.22 mm at 30° inferior retina). Correlations between relative peripheral refractive error and relative peripheral eye length were on the order of -0.51 to -0.60 laterally and -0.33 to -0.59 vertically (all p<0.001). The more myopic the foveal refractive error, the steeper the peripheral retina, both laterally and vertically.
Conclusions :
The peripheral refractive errors and eye lengths of myopic children are similar to those described for myopic adults, suggesting little change in relationship over time. Although significantly correlated, the two variables are not interchangeable and should be analyzed separately.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.