Abstract
Purpose :
Identifying children at risk of myopia and assessing effectiveness of interventions for individual patients requires normative data on ocular growth, including axial length (AL) and refractive error (RE). However, contemporary biometry and refractive data in young children in the United States are not available. The goal of this cross-sectional study was to generate preliminary growth curve data for the design of a future longitudinal study in which percentile charts for RE and AL (growth curves) in children from diverse racial and socioeconomic backgrounds across the United States will be developed.
Methods :
This study was conducted at Berkeley, CA, Boston, MA, and Houston, TX, at Head Start centers and elementary schools. Children aged 3 to 8 years were recruited and provided with a comprehensive cycloplegic eye exam. Primary outcome measures include AL (IOLMaster 700) and RE (cycloplegic open-field autorefraction, computed as M, J0 and J45). Secondary outcome measures included other standard clinical measures, as well as height, weight, waist circumference, and a questionnaire regarding race/ethnicity, time spent outdoors and doing near work.
Results :
To date, children (N=110) aged 5.40 ± 1.85 years (range 3.00 to 8.48) participated. Refractions were OD: M 0.76 ± 1.59 D, J0 0.45 ± 0.48 D, J45 0.06 ± 0.23 D. AL was obtained from 101 children (OD 22.50 ± 0.96 mm). No significant differences were found between the two eyes in M, J0, J45, or AL, therefore correlations are calculated using OD. Among families that answered the questionnaire, there were 31 African American, 36 Hispanic, 10 Asian, and 2 White children. A significant negative correlation was found between AL and M (r=-0.55, p<0.001). A significant positive correlation was noted for AL and height (r=0.56, p<0.001), weight (r=0.47, p<0.001), and waist (r=0.26, p=0.01). Neither AL or M were significantly correlated with BMI or waist/height ratio.
Conclusions :
We successfully obtained RE and AL data from children as young as 3 years of age at their education centers. The results and lessons learned from this study will be used to develop a longitudinal large-scale study to generate percentile charts for RE and AL (growth curves) in young children from diverse racial and socioeconomic backgrounds across the United States.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.