Ocular Anatomical and Functional Characteristics in Anisometropic Chinese Children.

SIGNIFICANCE: This research found that anterior and posterior biometrics differ in many aspects between fellow eyes of anisometropic children. This might shed light on the mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of anisometropia and myopia.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the ocular biometric parameters, peripheral refraction, and accommodative lag of fellow eyes in anisometropic children.

METHODS

Anisometropic children were recruited. Axial length (AL), vitreous chamber depth (VCD), central corneal thickness, anterior chamber depth (ACD), lens thickness (LT), simulated K readings, central and peripheral refractive errors, and accommodative lag were measured in both eyes. The subfoveal choroidal thickness, average choroidal thickness, and choroid vessel density of the 6 × 6-mm macular area were measured by optical coherence tomography.

RESULTS

Thirty-two children aged 11.1 ± 1.7 years were enrolled. The average degree of anisometropia was 2.49 ± 0.88 D. The AL, VCD, ACD, and simulated K reading values were significantly larger in the more myopic eyes, whereas the LT value was significantly smaller. Subfoveal choroidal thickness (P = .001) and average choroidal thickness (P = .02) were smaller in the more myopic eyes than in the contralateral eyes, whereas choroid vessel density (P = .03) was larger. The amount of anisometropia had a significant positive correlation with the difference in AL (r = 0.869, P < .001), VCD (r = 0.853, P < .001), and ACD (r = 0.591, P < .001) and a negative correlation with the difference in LT (r = -0.457, P = .009).

CONCLUSIONS

Ocular biometrics differ in many aspects between the fellow eyes of anisometropic Chinese children, and the difference is correlated with the degree of anisometropia.