Macular Thickness in Highly Myopic Children Aged 3 to 7 Years
Purpose:
To compare the macular thickness and volume of highly myopic children with healthy controls, using third generation optical coherence tomography (OCT).
Methods:
OCT was performed on highly myopic (cycloplegic spherical equivalent refraction > -6.00 diopters [D]) children aged 3 to 7 years old and healthy controls (spherical equivalent refraction -2.00 to +4.00 D) between 2011 and 2013. OCT measurements of the average thicknesses of the fovea (central 1 mm) and inner (1 to 3 mm) and outer (3 to 6 mm) parafovea in superior, temporal, inferior, and nasal quadrants and total volume of the macular scan area were recorded. The differences between the two groups were tested with the Mann-Whitney U test.
Results:
There were 15 patients with high myopia and 11 controls. Foveal thickness (central 1 mm) was significantly greater in the high myopia group. The parafoveal thicknesses in all quadrants of the inner and outer circles were significantly thinner in the high myopia group. The average macular volume of the highly myopic eyes was significantly smaller than the control eyes.
Conclusions:
Anatomic changes in the retina occur even in young children with high myopia. Macular thickness characteristics of highly myopic children may influence the interpretation of data obtained with OCT.
