Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Jun 20;53(7):3782-7.
doi: 10.1167/iovs.11-8727.

Anisometropia in children from infancy to 15 years

Li Deng  1 , Jane E Gwiazda
Affiliations

Anisometropia in children from infancy to 15 years

Li Deng et al. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. .

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate anisometropia in children from age 6 months to 15 years.

Methods: Children with refractions at 6 months (n = 1120), 5 years (n = 395), and 12 to 15 years (n = 312) were included in this study. All children were refracted in the laboratory by noncycloplegic retinoscopy. Myopes had spherical equivalent refraction (SER) of the less ametropic eye of less than -0.50 D, hyperopes had SER of the less ametropic eye greater than or equal to 1.00 D, and emmetropes had SER of the less ametropic eye from -0.50 to +1.00 D.

Results: The mean difference in refraction between the two eyes was similar at 6 months (0.11 D) and 5 years (0.15 D), increasing to 0.28 D at 12 to 15 years. Using a cutoff of 1.00 D SER for anisometropia, the prevalence was 1.96%, 1.27%, and 5.77% at 6 months, 5 years, and 12 to 15 years, respectively. At 12 to 15 years, the prevalence of anisometropia in the myopes was 9.64% and in the hyperopes was 13.64%, both significantly higher than that in the emmetropes (3.38%, P < 0.05). The degree of anisometropia at 12 to 15 years was significantly associated with the refractive error of the less ametropic eye at 12 to 15 years, with and without adjustment for relevant covariates (P < 0.05). Infants with significant astigmatism (cylinder power ≥ 1.00 D in one or both eyes) have an increased risk of anisometropia (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: The prevalence of anisometropia increases between 5 and 15 years, when some children's eyes grow longer and become myopic. However, anisometropia was found to accompany both myopia and hyperopia, suggesting that other mechanisms in addition to excessive eye growth may exist for anisometropia development, especially in hyperopia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: L. Deng, None; J.E. Gwiazda, None

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Prevalence of anisometropia by age.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Anisometropia among 12- to 15-year-olds by refractive group.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Association between anisometropia and significant astigmatism in infants.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Interocular difference in refractive error at 12 to 15 years.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Huynh SC, Wang XY, Ip J, et al. Prevalence and associations of anisometropia and aniso-astigmatism in a population based sample of 6-year old children. Br J Ophthalmol. 2006;90:597–601 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Almeder LM, Peck LB, Howland HC. Prevalence of anisometropia in volunteer laboratory and school screening populations. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1990;31:2448–2455 - PubMed
    1. Yekta A, Fotouhi A, Hashemi H, et al. The prevalence of anisometropia, amblyopia and strabismus in schoolchildren of Shiraz, Iran. Strabismus. 2010;18:104–110 - PubMed
    1. Borchert M, Tarczy-Hornoch K, Cotter SA, Liu N, Azen SP, Varma R. Anisometropia in Hispanic and African American infants and young children the multi-ethnic pediatric eye disease study. Ophthalmology. 2010;117:148–153 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Liang YB, Wong TY, Sun LP, et al. Refractive errors in a rural Chinese adult population the Handan eye study. Ophthalmology. 2009;116:2119–2127 - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms