title: Peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer thickness and its association with refractive error in Chinese children: the Anyang Childhood Eye Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To report the thickness of the peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (pRNFL) in Chinese children and examine its association with refractive error, axial length (AL) and optic disc parameters.
  
  
  METHODS
  Population-based cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 2893 seven-year-old children from 11 randomly selected primary schools in Anyang, central China.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants underwent ophthalmic examinations including optical biometry, cycloplegic autorefraction and spectral-domain ocular coherence tomography.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retinal nerve fibre layer thickness in 16 radial sections, cycloplegic spherical equivalent, AL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean (SD) average RNFL thickness was 102.01(8.02) µm. The average RNFL thickness decreased with smaller disc area (r = 0.18, R2= 0.03, P < 0.0001), bigger cup area (r = -0.11, R2= 0.01, P < 0.0001), smaller rim area (r = 0.28, R2= 0.08, P < 0.0001), smaller nerve head volume (r = 0.27, R2= 0.07, P < 0.0001), longer AL (r = -0.15, R2= 0.02, P < 0.0001) and a negative spherical equivalent (r = 0.11, R2= 0.01, P < 0.0001). Hyperopic children had a thicker RNFL than emmetropic children [102.45(8.13) µm vs. 100.81 (7.18) µm, P < 0.001]. Myopic children had thinner RNFL than emmetropic children [99.17 (7.69) µm vs. 100.81 (7.18) µm, P < 0.05].
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Retinal nerve fibre layer thickness decreased with increasing AL, higher myopia, bigger cup area, smaller disc and rim area, and a smaller nerve head volume, but the coefficient of determination for all these associations was small. The RNFL in myopes was significantly thinner than emmetropes or hyperopes, but with small absolute differences. The study provides RNFL values for healthy 7-year-old Chinese children. Follow up of this cohort to observe the change of RNFL thickness with myopia and possible change in detected associations with age is planned.
authors.affiliation: Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Ophthalmology & Visual Science Key Lab, Beijing, China.|Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Meng-Tian
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Ophthalmology & Visual Science Key Lab, Beijing, China.|Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Shi-Ming
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Anyang Eye Hospital, Henan Province, China.
authors.forename: He
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Ophthalmology & Visual Science Key Lab, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Ophthalmology & Visual Science Key Lab, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Si-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Tongzhou Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Beijing, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Bi-Dan
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Ophthalmology & Visual Science Key Lab, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yi-Qin
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Peking University School of Public Health, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Ophthalmology & Visual Science Key Lab, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yun-Yun
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Ophthalmology & Visual Science Key Lab, Beijing, China.|Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Anran
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ran
authors.affiliation: Anyang Eye Hospital, Henan Province, China.
authors.forename: Yi-Peng
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Anyang Eye Hospital, Henan Province, China.
authors.forename: Luo-Ru
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, Peking University School of Public Health, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Si-Yan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.affiliation: Queensland Eye Institute, Brisbane, Australia.|University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Ophthalmology & Visual Science Key Lab, Beijing, China.|Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ningli
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People / Q000208:ethnology; D058452:Axial Length, Eye; D001699:Biometry; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D058453:Emmetropia / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006956:Hyperopia / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D009216:Myopia / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000473:pathology*; D009898:Optic Disk / Q000473:pathology; D012029:Refraction, Ocular / Q000502:physiology; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence
keywords: children; retinal nerve fibre layer thickness; spectral-domain optical coherence tomography