Longitudinal Changes in Choroidal Thickness Varied With Refractive Progression in Myopic and Non-Myopic Children: A
Menglu Shen1,2, Xiaotong Han1,2, Yan Yang1,2
1State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Insights
Subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) changes in children vary by refractive status. SFCT thickens in non-myopic children with stable refraction and thins in those with progressing myopia or non-myopia.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatric Ophthalmology
- Retinal Imaging
Background:
- Subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) is a key indicator of ocular health.
- Understanding longitudinal SFCT changes in children is crucial for monitoring refractive development and potential interventions.
- Previous studies have not fully elucidated the relationship between refractive status progression and SFCT dynamics in pediatric populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the longitudinal changes in subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) among children with diverse refractive statuses.
- To analyze how SFCT varies in persistent non-myopia, persistent myopia, and newly developed myopia groups over time.
- To examine the impact of refractive progression versus stability on SFCT in different refractive groups.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 2290 children aged 3-14 years in Guangzhou, China, were followed for 2 years.
- Participants underwent cycloplegic autorefraction, axial length measurement, and SFCT measurement using CIRRUS HD-OCT.
- Children were categorized into persistent non-myopia (PNM), persistent myopia (PM), and newly developed myopia (NDM) groups, with further stratification by refractive stability.
Main Results:
- SFCT consistently decreased in the newly developed myopia (NDM) group across all age cohorts (P < 0.001).
- Significant SFCT thickening was observed in the PNM-stable subgroup (G0, G1, G7 cohorts; P < 0.05), while SFCT remained stable in the PM-stable subgroup.
- SFCT showed thinning in the PM-progressive (G4, G7 cohorts; P < 0.01) and PNM-progressive groups (P = 0.012).
Conclusions:
- Subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) increases in non-myopic children with stable refraction.
- SFCT remains stable in myopic children with stable refraction.
- SFCT decreases in children experiencing refractive progression, regardless of their initial refractive status.
Purpose:
To evaluate the longitudinal changes in subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) in children with different refractive status.
Methods:
A total of 2290 children 3 to 14 years old who attended the first year of kindergarten (G0), first year of primary school (G1), fourth year of primary school (G4), or first year of junior high school (G7) in Guangzhou, China, were recruited and followed up for 2 years. All participants received cycloplegic autorefraction, axial length measurement and SFCT measurement using a CIRRUS HD-OCT device. Children were divided into groups of persistent non-myopia (PNM), persistent myopia (PM), or newly developed myopia (NDM). Children in the PNM and PM groups were further divided into subgroups of stable refraction (absolute mean annual spherical equivalent refraction [SER] change < 0.5 D) and refractive progression (absolute mean annual SER change ≥ 0.5 D).
Results:
The mean ± SD ages for the G1 to G7 cohorts were 3.89 ± 0.30, 6.79 ± 0.47, 9.71 ± 0.34, and 12.54 ± 0.38, years, respectively. SFCT consistently decreased in the NDM group across the G1 to G7 cohorts (all P < 0.001) and exhibited variability across different age cohorts in the PNM and PM groups. Further subgroup analysis revealed significant thickening of SFCT in the PNM-stable group among the G0, G1, and G7 cohorts (all P < 0.05), whereas it remained stable among all cohorts in the PM-stable group (all P > 0.05). Conversely, SFCT exhibited thinning in the G4 and G7 cohorts in the PM-progressive group (both P < 0.01) and for the entire cohort of children in the PNM-progressive group (P = 0.012).
Conclusions:
SFCT increased in nonmyopic children with stable refraction, remained stable in myopic children maintained stable refraction, and decreased in those with refractive progression, whether they were myopic or not.
