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Near heterophoria in early childhood

Erin Babinsky1, Vidhyapriya Sreenivasan1, T Rowan Candy1

  • 1Indiana University School of Optometry, Bloomington, Indiana, United States.

Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science
|January 31, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Young children predominantly exhibit exophoria, a common outward eye turn, even as their vision develops. This study measured near heterophoria in children aged 2-7, finding exophoria to be the typical dissociated eye position.

Area of Science:

  • Ophthalmology
  • Pediatric Optometry
  • Vision Science

Background:

  • Accurate eye alignment is crucial for binocular vision.
  • Understanding typical visual development in children is essential for early detection of potential issues.
  • Near heterophoria, the tendency for eyes to drift outward at near, is a common condition.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify near heterophoria in young children (ages 2-7).
  • To investigate the influence of early growth and development on ocular alignment.
  • To compare heterophoria measurements between children and adults.

Main Methods:

  • Simultaneous Purkinje image tracking and photorefraction technology (MCS PowerRefractor) were used.
  • Eye position and accommodation responses were measured in 50 children and 13 adults without optical correction.
  • Accommodative convergence/accommodation (AC/A) and convergence accommodation/convergence (CA/C) ratios were computed.

Main Results:

  • The mean near heterophoria was 5.0 prism diopters (pd) exophoria in children and 5.6 pd in adults, with no significant age-related differences between 2 and 6 years.
  • 78% of children and 69% of adults showed greater than 2 pd exophoria.
  • Heterophoria in children was not significantly correlated with AC/A, CA/C, or refractive error.

Conclusions:

  • Young children typically present with exophoria in their dissociated eye position.
  • This exophoria persists despite developmental changes in interpupillary distance, refractive error, and AC/A.
  • Findings suggest exophoria is a common characteristic of visual development in early childhood.
Abstract

Keywords:
accommodationheterophoriarefractive errorvergenceyoung children

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