The Possible Role of Peripheral Refraction in Development of Myopia.

Recent longitudinal studies do not support the current theory of relative peripheral hyperopia causing myopia. The theory is based on misunderstanding of the Hoogerheide et al. article of 1971, which actually found relative peripheral hyperopia to be present after, rather than before, myopia development. The authors present two alternative theories of the role of peripheral refraction in the development and progression of myopia. The one for which most detail is given is based on cessation of ocular growth when the periphery is at an emmetropic stage as determined by equivalent blur of the two line foci caused by oblique astigmatism. This paper is based on an invited commentary on the role of lens treatments in myopia from the 15th International Myopia Conference in Wenzhou, China in September 2015.