title: Fundus characteristics of high myopia in children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the fundus characteristics of highly myopic eyes in children.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed the medical records of 46 children (1 to 8 years old; mean age, 6.8 years) (80 eyes) with high myopia (4 D or more for children younger than 5 years, 6 D or more for children aged 6-8 years) seen consecutively during a 10-year period at the high-myopia clinic in our hospital. Children of up to 8 years of age at the initial visit were included in the study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fundus examination revealed posterior staphyloma in only one eye (1.3%) and mild chorioretinal atrophy around the optic disc in 13 eyes (16.3%). There were no patients with choroidal neovascularization or geographic atrophy in the posterior fundus. Myopic peripapillary crescent was observed in 26 eyes (33.8%), but the area of the crescent was relatively small (mean, 0.5 disc area).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of the present study showed that myopic fundus changes are uncommon and mild in children. They suggest that aging, in addition to mechanical stretching of the eyeball, might be important for the development of myopic fundus changes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan.
authors.forename: Kanako
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Kyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohno-Matsui
authors.forename: Ariko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kojima
authors.forename: Noriaki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.forename: Kenjiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yasuzumi
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Soh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Futagami
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tokoro
authors.forename: Manabu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mochizuki
mesh_terms: D001284:Atrophy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002829:Choroid / Q000473:pathology*; D004108:Dilatation, Pathologic; D005260:Female; D005654:Fundus Oculi; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009216:Myopia / Q000150:complications*; D012160:Retina / Q000473:pathology*; D012590:Sclera / Q000473:pathology*