Abstract
Purpose :
To compare 3-year myopia progression rates in children from Finland and Singapore with matching and different baseline characteristics.
Methods :
Children aged 9 to 13 years (n= 521) from SCORM (Matched), with -0.50 to -3.00 D myopia at baseline were matched by age and refraction at baseline to 233 Finnish children. The third cohort for comparison was SCORM (Young) comprising 240 children with the same range of refraction at baseline, but were 7 to 8 year olds. In SCORM and Finland, sociodemographic and lifestyle information were ascertained through parent-administered questionnaires and cycloplegic refraction was assessed annually over 3 years.
Results :
The children in Finland were 100% European-derived while SCORM was 81% Chinese, 12% Malay, and 7% Indian and others. Myopia progressed at -0.67 (±0.47) D, -0.44 (±0.36) D and -1.08 (±0.48) D in Year 1 and declined to -0.47D (±0.43) D, -0.23D (±0.35) D and -0.58D (±0.33) D in Year 3 for children in Finland, SCORM (Matched) and SCORM (Young) respectively. Annual progression during the follow-up decreased in all 3 cohorts (p’s < 0.001). More children in SCORM Young (33.9%) have 2 myopic parents, compared with Finland (11.3%) and SCORM Matched (21.9%) (P<0.001).
Country-specific differences existed for lifestyle factors. Finnish children spend 2.6 ± 1.0 (S.D), while children in SCORM (Matched and Young) spend 0.6 ±0.4 and 0.5 ±0.4 hours/day outdoors, respectively (p<0.001). Conversely, Finnish children spend 1.8 ±0.9 hours/day on near work while children in SCORM (Matched and Young) spend 3.5 ±1.9 and 3.5 ±1.9 hours/day, respectively (p<0.001).
Conclusions :
Despite country-specific differences in time spent on close work and outdoor activities there were no significant differences in 3-year myopic progression between Finnish and Singaporean children, when matched by age and baseline refraction. However, among younger Singapore children with the same refraction at baseline, the progression rates were faster and they more often had myopic parents. Thus, the age for a given severity of myopia in children is a predictor of myopia progression rates.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.