A 2-year longitudinal study of myopia progression and optical component changes among Hong Kong schoolchildren.
This study investigated refractive error and optical component changes in a group of 142 Hong Kong schoolchildren from age 6 to 17 years over a 2-year period between 1991 and 1993. Subjects were refracted subjectively and corneal curvatures and ocular dimensions were measured. At the end of the 2-year study, the mean spherical equivalent refraction (SER) was -1.86 D (SD 1.99 D) and 62% of the schoolchildren were myopic. The annual incidence of myopia was 11.8%. Children aged 10 years and under had a greater change in SER toward myopia than older children. The annual rate of myopia progression for the myopic children was -0.46 D (SD 0.40 D) and the rate of progression was greatest between age 6 and 10 years old. Vitreous depth/axial length elongation was the main component contributing to the progression of myopia. Hong Kong schoolchildren develop myopia as early as 6 years old and myopia progresses at a greater rate compared with children of European extraction.
Department of Optometry and Radiography, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon. orcarly@polyu.edu.hk
C S
CS
Lam
M
M
Edwards
M
M
Millodot
W S
WS
Goh
D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D003315:Cornea / Q000503:physiopathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D005123:Eye / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D009216:Myopia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012029:Refraction, Ocular; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D014822:Vitreous Body / Q000503:physiopathology