Eye examinations improve visual acuity across ages.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate changes in distance best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) relative to presenting visual acuity (PVA) as a function of age and the number of years between eye examinations.


METHODS
Retrospective cross-sectional study.


METHODS
6397 patient files at a large Canadian Optometric Clinic.


METHODS
A retrospective file review of patients aged 4 to 93 years from the University of Waterloo, Optometry Clinic was conducted. Mean decimal PVA values were calculated for all patients grouped by year of age, and a function was fit to these data using nonlinear regression. The same was done for BCVA and the functions were compared. In addition, the mean logMAR difference between PVA and BCVA was determined for patients grouped by the length of time between the study visual assessment and their previous visual assessment independent of patient age.


RESULTS
Right and left eye functions were not significantly different from each other for either PVA or BCVA. BCVA functions were significantly greater than PVA functions for both right (F[3174] = 194.7, p < 0.0001) and left (F[3174] = 206.0, p < 0.0001) eyes. PVA differed (≥1 line) from BCVA in at least 1 eye in 70% (n = 4054) of patients. The difference between BCVA and PVA increased as the length of time between assessments increased from 0.075 logMAR for <1 year to 0.107 logMAR for ≥5 years.


CONCLUSIONS
Refractive testing resulted in an improvement in BCVA over PVA in the majority of patients, over a wide range of ages.
University of Waterloo, School of Optometry and Vision Science, Waterloo, Ont, Canada.
Carolyn M
CM
Machan
Linda
L
Lillakas
Patricia K
PK
Hrynchak
Andrea M
AM
Mittelstaedt
Elizabeth L
EL
Irving
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010808:Physical Examination; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015351:Vision Screening; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult