Conjunctival autofluorescence (CUVAF) as a biomarker of outdoor exposure in the risk of childhood myopia.

Abstract

Purpose : compare ultraviolet conjunctival autofluorescence area (CUVAF) in children with and without myopia; validating its usefulness as a biomarker of protection against risk of childhood myopia. As a secondary objective, to check the correlation between the activities when open air and the CUVAF in the different groups.

Methods : Case-control study in a cohort of children aged 6 to 17 years, in which is found and compares the conjunctival autofluorescence area (CUVAF) between myopic and non-myopic groups. The group participants myopic will be patients of the Ophthalmology department of the Clinic Universidad de Navarra. The Control group participants will be both Clinic patients and volunteers from various schools in Pamplona. All participants underwent an automatic objective refraction, axial length measurement, color fundus photographs, and CUVAF area (BAF module on the Heidelberg Spectralis HRA + OCT). All the participants filled out a questionnaire of life style and myopia history. For all statistical analyses, corrected p values p=0.05 (two-tailed) were considered statistically significant using SPSS 20.1 and Graphpad Softwares.

Results : A total of 263 children were recruited, 213 were myopic and 50 non-myopic controls. The CUVAF area of the control group was significantly higher than that of the myopic children (p=0.0008). The percentage of CUVAF areas of zero was significantly higher in myopes than in controls, specifically in myopia grade 2 and high myopia groups compared control group (p=0.0006 and p=0.013 respectively). Lastly, there were significant less hours of outdoor activities (p=0.0042) in myopic children vs control group.

Conclusions : In conclusion, the validity of the CUVAF as a biomarker in children aged 6 to 17 years was confirmed, finding an inversely proportional relationship between the CUVAF and myopia being able to become a more reliable method to assess outdoor activities than questionnaires.

This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.