This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Saw, S M Articles by Stone, R A Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Saw, S M Articles by Stone, R A

Eye growth changes in myopic children in Singapore

¹ Department of Community, Occupational and Family, Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
² Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore
³ Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore
⁴ Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore, and Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK
⁵ Department of Ophthalmology, National University of Singapore, Singapore
⁶ Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Scheie Eye Institute, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Seang-Mei Saw
Department of Community, Occupational and Family Medicine, National University of Singapore, 16 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597, Republic of Singapore; cofsawsm{at}nus.edu.sg

Aims: To assess the longitudinal changes in biometric parameters and associated factors in young myopic children aged 7–9 years followed prospectively in Singapore.

Methods: Children aged 7–9 years from three Singapore schools were invited to participate in the SCORM (Singapore Cohort study Of the Risk factors for Myopia) study. Yearly eye examinations involving biometry measures were performed in the schools. Only myopic children (n = 543) with 3 year follow up data were included in this analysis.

Results: The 3 year increases in axial length, anterior chamber depth, lens thickness, vitreous chamber depth, and corneal curvature were 0.89 mm, –0.02 mm, –0.01 mm, 0.92 mm, and 0.01 mm, respectively. Children who were younger, female, and who had a parental history of myopia were more likely to have greater increases in axial length. After adjustment for school, age, sex, race, parental myopia and reading in books per week, the age (p<0.001), sex (p = 0.012), and parental myopia (p = 0.027) remained significantly associated with the 3 year change in axial length. Reading in books per week, however, was not associated with axial length change. Children with faster rates of progression of myopia had greater increases in axial length (Pearson correlation coefficient (r) = –0.69) and vitreous chamber depth (r = –0.83).

Conclusions: The 3 year change in axial length of Singapore children aged 7–9 years at baseline was high and greater in younger children, females, and children with a parental history of myopia. Myopia progression was driven largely by vitreous chamber depth increase.

Abbreviations: CLEERE study, Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of Ethnicity and Refractive Error study; COMET, Correction of Myopia Evaluation Trial; SCORM study, Singapore Cohort study Of the Risk factors for Myopia study

Keywords: axial length; epidemiology; biometry; Singapore; vitreous chamber depth; children

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. C. Lopes, T. Andrew, F. Carbonaro, T. D. Spector, and C. J. Hammond Estimating Heritability and Shared Environmental Effects for Refractive Error in Twin and Family Studies Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., January 1, 2009; 50(1): 126 - 131. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. M. Ip, S. C. Huynh, A. Kifley, K. A. Rose, I. G. Morgan, R. Varma, and P. Mitchell Variation of the Contribution from Axial Length and Other Oculometric Parameters to Refraction by Age and Ethnicity Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., October 1, 2007; 48(10): 4846 - 4853. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. A Guggenheim, R. Pong-Wong, C. S Haley, G. Gazzard, and S. M. Saw Correlations in refractive errors between siblings in the Singapore Cohort Study of Risk factors for Myopia Br. J. Ophthalmol., June 1, 2007; 91(6): 781 - 784. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Dirani, M. Chamberlain, S. N. Shekar, A. F. M. Islam, P. Garoufalis, C. Y. Chen, R. H. Guymer, and P. N. Baird Heritability of Refractive Error and Ocular Biometrics: The Genes in Myopia (GEM) Twin Study Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., November 1, 2006; 47(11): 4756 - 4761. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]