The Influence of Myopia Progression in Children on the Risk of Retinal Detachment: A Comprehensive Outcomes Analysis

To investigate the long-term association between childhood myopia and the risk of retinal detachment over a 10-year follow-up period.

A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the TriNetX platform, which included 66 United States health care organizations' electronic medical records. Children diagnosed as having myopia (n = 151,499) were compared to a control group of children without myopia who received routine health examinations (n = 5,073,124). Propensity score matching was applied to control for age, gender, and race, resulting in 145,814 patients in each cohort for analysis.

Within the study period from October 16, 2004 to October 16, 2024, 657 children (0.5%) in the myopic cohort and 63 children (0.04%) in the control cohort developed retinal detachment. The risk difference was 0.004 (95% CI: 0.004 to 0.004, P < .001), with a risk ratio of 10.43. The odds ratio was 10.47 (95% CI: 8.09 to 13.56). The average number of retinal detachments per child between the cohorts was not statistically significant.

Children with myopia are at an increased risk of retinal detachment over a 10-year period. This highlights an urgent need for early detection and monitoring of these children to prevent myopia progression and retinal detachment. The findings reinforce the growing need for public health measures and clinical approaches aimed at slowing myopia progression in pediatric populations.