Ophthalmology Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Ophthalmology, including details on eye surgery, myopia, cataracts.

Anisometropia prevalence in a highly astigmatic school-aged population.

Dobson V, Harvey EM, Miller JM, Clifford-Donaldson CE

Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85711, USA. vdobson@eyes.arizona.edu

PURPOSE: To describe prevalence of anisometropia, defined in terms of both sphere and cylinder, examined cross-sectionally, in school-aged members of a Native American tribe with a high prevalence of astigmatism. METHODS: Cycloplegic autorefraction measurements, confirmed by retinoscopy and, when possible, by subjective refraction were obtained from 1041 Tohono O'odham children, 4 to 13 years of age. RESULTS: Astigmatism > or =1.00 diopter (D) was present in one or both eyes of 462 children (44.4%). Anisometropia > or =1.00 D spherical equivalent (SE) was found in 70 children (6.7%), and anisometropia > or =1.00 D cylinder was found in 156 children (15.0%). Prevalence of anisometropia did not vary significantly with age or gender. Overall prevalence of significant anisometropia was 18.1% for a difference between eyes > or =1.00 D SE or cylinder. Vector analysis of between-eye differences showed a prevalence of significant anisometropia of 25.3% for one type of vector notation (difference between eyes > or =1.00 D for M and/or > or =0.50 D for J0 or J45), and 16.2% for a second type of vector notation (between-eye vector dioptric difference > or =1.41). CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of SE anisometropia is similar to that reported for other school-aged populations. However, prevalence of astigmatic anisometropia is higher than that reported for other school-aged populations.

Published 2 July 2008 in Optom Vis Sci, 85(7): 512-9.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Ophthalmology Research Today. All Rights Reserved.