Alterations in Peripheral Refraction are Most Significant Just Before the Onset of Myopia: Evidence from

Feijia Xie1,2,3, Xukai Mao1,2,3, Mingming Jiang1,2,3

  • 1Eye Institute of Shandong First Medical University, Qingdao Eye Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Qingdao, Shandong, People's Republic of China.

PubMed

Insights

Retinal defocus values (RDVs) show significant changes before axial length reaches 23mm, indicating potential for myopia prediction. Temporal retinal defocus varied most, suggesting nasal visual input influences refractive outcomes in children.

Area of Science:

  • Ophthalmology
  • Optometry
  • Pediatric Eye Care

Background:

  • Refractive development in children is crucial for visual health.
  • Understanding retinal defocus values (RDVs) is key to analyzing refractive errors.
  • Chinese children's refractive development characteristics are under investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the characteristics of retinal defocus values (RDVs) in Chinese children.
  • To identify potential predictors for myopia occurrence based on RDVs.
  • To analyze the relationship between RDVs and ocular biometric parameters.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study included 2125 children aged 4-15 years.
  • Ocular parameters like axial length (AL) and corneal curvature were measured.
  • Multispectral refractive tomography (MRT) assessed total and regional RDVs.

Main Results:

  • RDVs generally shifted towards hyperopic defocus with decreasing diopters, except for the superior retina which showed consistent myopic defocus.
  • RDV-45 and temporal RDVs (RDV-T) exhibited the most significant changes.
  • Hyperopic shifts in RDVs were most pronounced before 23mm AL and in the transition from emmetropia to low myopia.

Conclusions:

  • Significant changes and inequalities in RDVs before 23mm AL may predict myopia onset.
  • Temporal retinal defocus variations suggest nasal visual information influences refractive development.
  • Early myopia is associated with peak differences between superior and inferior RDVs.
Abstract