title: Raine eye health study: design, methodology and baseline prevalence of ophthalmic disease in a birth-cohort study of young adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Raine Eye Health Study (REHS) was conceived to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for eye disease in young adults, and to characterize ocular biometric parameters in a young adult cohort. This article summarizes the rationale and study design of REHS and outlines the baseline prevalence of ophthalmic disease in this population.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study originated as a randomized-controlled trial of 2900 women recruited from the state's largest maternity hospital. Their offspring (N = 2868) have been followed at birth, ages 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 14, 17 and 20 years of age in a prospective cohort study. DNA has been collected from participants for genome-wide association studies. At the 20-year follow-up participants completed a comprehensive eye assessment that included visual acuity, orthoptic assessment and cycloplegic autorefraction, as well as several ocular biometric variables and multiple ophthalmic photographs of the anterior and posterior segments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1344 participants (51.3% male) were assessed over a 24-month period. For the majority of examined participants (85.5%) both parents were Caucasian, 63.3% had completed school year 12 or equivalent, 5.5% had myopia (spherical equivalent ≤-3 diopters) and 15 participants (1.2%) had unilateral or bilateral pterygia. Keratoconus, cataract, keratitis and uveitis were rare.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The REHS design and methodology allow comparison with other population-based studies of eye disease. The study established the prevalence of eye disorders in a large sample of predominantly Caucasian young Australian adults.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Western Australia, Lions Eye Institute Perth , Australia.
authors.forename: Seyhan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yazar
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Forward
authors.forename: Charlotte M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: McKnight
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: Alla
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soloshenko
authors.forename: Sandra K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Oates
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ang
authors.forename: Justin C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Sherwin
authors.forename: Diane
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: Jenny A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Mountain
authors.forename: Craig E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Pennell
authors.forename: Alex W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Hewitt
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Mackey
mesh_terms: D015331:Cohort Studies; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012107:Research Design; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D014904:Western Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000208:ethnology*; D055815:Young Adult