Habitual Spectacle-Corrected Distance Visual Acuity and Axial Elongation in School-Based Myopia Screening: A...

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Pediatric Optometry
• Myopia Research

Background:

• Progressive axial elongation is a key indicator of myopia progression.
• Ocular biometry in school screenings can be challenging; visual acuity data may aid follow-up prioritization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between stable spectacle-corrected visual acuity profiles and annualized axial length growth in children.
• To determine if visual acuity status, beyond spectacle wear, correlates with myopia progression.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study using a school-based myopia screening database.
• Classified children (7.0-9.9 years) into adequately corrected (ACG), under-corrected (UCG), or uncorrected myopia (UMG) groups based on visual acuity and spectacle wear.
• Utilized propensity-score matching and multivariable regression to analyze annualized axial length growth (ΔAL).

Main Results:

• A cohort of 4152 children was analyzed, with matched pairs for ACG-UCG and UCG-UMG comparisons.
• Annualized axial length growth was significantly lower in the adequately corrected group compared to the under-corrected group (0.224 vs. 0.362 mm/year).
• No significant difference in axial length growth was found between the under-corrected and uncorrected myopia groups.

Conclusions:

• Stable spectacle correction, indicated by visual acuity, is associated with reduced annualized axial length growth.
• Visual acuity achieved with habitual spectacle wear may offer additional predictive information for myopia progression.
• These findings are observational and do not establish causality or predictive equivalence.