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
Review
. 2023 May;43(3):347-367.
doi: 10.1111/opo.13094. Epub 2023 Feb 5.

Refractive development I: Biometric changes during emmetropisation

Jos J Rozema  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Refractive development I: Biometric changes during emmetropisation

Jos J Rozema. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2023 May.

Abstract

Purpose: Although there are many reports on ocular growth, these data are often fragmented into separate parameters or for limited age ranges. This work intends to create an overview of normal eye growth (i.e., in absence of myopisation) for the period before birth until 18 years of age.

Methods: The data for this analysis were taken from a search of six literature databases using keywords such as "[Parameter] & [age group]", with [Parameter] the ocular parameter under study and [age group] an indication of age. This yielded 34,409 references that, after screening of title, abstract and text, left 294 references with usable data. Where possible, additional parameters were calculated, such as the Bennett crystalline lens power, whole eye power and axial power.

Results: There were 3422 average values for 17 parameters, calculated over a combined total of 679,398 individually measured or calculated values. The age-related change in refractive error was best fitted by a sum of four exponentials (r2 = 0.58), while all other biometric parameters could be fitted well by a sum of two exponentials and a linear term ('bi-exponential function'; r2 range: 0.64-0.99). The first exponential of the bi-exponential fits typically reached 95% of its end value before 18 months, suggesting that these reached genetically pre-programmed passive growth. The second exponentials reached this point between 4 years of age for the anterior curvature and well past adulthood for most lenticular dimensions, suggesting that this part represents the active control underlying emmetropisation. The ocular components each have different growth rates, but growth rate changes occur simultaneously at first and then act independently after birth.

Conclusions: Most biometric parameters grow according to a bi-exponential pattern associated with passive and actively modulated eye growth. This may form an interesting reference to understand myopisation.

Keywords: ageing; children; emmetropisation; eye growth; homeostasis; modelling; ocular biometry.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Straub M. Über die Atiologie der Brechungsanomalien des Auges und den Ursprung der Emmetropie. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 1909;70:130-99.
    1. Sorsby A, Benjamin B, Davey JB, Sheridan M, Tanner JM. Emmetropia and its aberrations: a study in the correlation of the optical components of the eye. Spec Rep Ser Med Res Counc. 1957;11:1-69.
    1. Stenstrom S. Variations and correlations of the optical components of the eye. In: Sorsby A, editor. Modern trends in ophthalmology. II. London: Butterworth & Co.; 1948. p. 87-102.
    1. Tron EJ. The optical elements of the refractive power of the eye. In: Ridley F, Sorsby A, editors. Modern trends in ophthalmology. London: Butterworth & Co.; 1940. p. 245-55.
    1. Saunders KJ, Woodhouse JM, Westall CA. Emmetropisation in human infancy: rate of change is related to initial refractive error. Vision Res. 1995;35:1325-8.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources