Progression of lower and higher-order aberrations: a longitudinal study

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology and Optometry
• Vision Science
• Corneal and Refractive Surgery

Background:

• Investigating the impact of near-work on visual aberrations is crucial for understanding myopia progression.
• Previous research has explored the relationship between visual tasks and refractive error changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the effect of near-work on lower and higher-order aberrations.
• To track the progression of these aberrations over a 9-month school year period.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from 24 myopic and 24 non-myopic young adult eyes.
• Measured lower-order aberrations, coma, spherical aberration (SA), and total higher-order aberrations (HOA) using an open-field iTrace aberrometer.
• Aberration measurements were taken at baseline and follow-up visits over 9 months with a 4 mm pupil size.

Main Results:

• A significant increase in myopic refraction was observed in the myopic group over the 9-month period.
• No significant changes were found in total HOA, SA, or coma between initial and follow-up visits for both myopic and non-myopic groups.
• Mean total HOA remained stable at 0.15 microns in myopes and 0.12 microns in non-myopes.

Conclusions:

• While near-work led to significant myopic refractive changes over 9 months, it did not significantly alter higher-order aberrations (total HOA, SA, coma).
• This suggests that the impact of near-work on refractive error progression may be independent of changes in specific higher-order aberrations.