title: A longitudinal study of the age dependence of human ocular refraction--II. Prediction of future trends in medium and high myopia by means of cluster analysis.
abstract: A sample population of myopes with an initial correction of 2 DS or more is extracted from the longitudinal sample of ametropes reported by Saunders (1986). The myopes are partitioned by means of cluster analysis and, as a result, three distinct groups of myopes are identified. The time/regression equations which best describe the groups are stated. It is concluded that meaningful long-term prognosis of medium and high myopes is unlikely and that reasonable prediction of short-term trends requires at least two consecutive refraction data to determine the group allocation of a myope.
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009216:Myopia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012029:Refraction, Ocular; D013223:Statistics as Topic