Prevalence of Hyperopia and Associations with Eye Findings in 6- and 12-Year-Old

Purpose: To describe the prevalence of hyperopia and associated factors in a representative sam Australian schoolchildren 6 and 12 years old. Design: Population-based cross-sectional study. Participants: Schoolchildren ages 6 (n 1765) and 12 (n 2353) from 55 randomly selected schools acr Sydney. Methods: Detailed eye examinations included cycloplegic autorefraction, ocular biometry, cover testing dilated fundus examination. Information on birth and medical history were obtained from a parent question Main Outcome Measures: Moderate hyperopia defined as spherical equivalent (SE) refraction of 2.00 diopters (D), and eye conditions including amblyopia, strabismus, astigmatism, and anisometropia. Results: Prevalences of moderate hyperopia among children ages 6 and 12 were 13.2% and respectively; it was more frequent in children of Caucasian ethnicity (15.7% and 6.8%, respectively) children of other ethnic groups. Compared with children without significant ametropia ( 0.49 SE refraction 1.99 D), the prevalence of eye conditions including amblyopia, strabismus, abnormal convergenc reduced stereoacuity was significantly greater in children with moderate hyperopia (all Ps 0.01). Materna smoking was significantly associated with moderate hyperopia among 6-year-olds ( P 0.03), but this assoc ation was borderline among 12-year-olds ( P 0.055). Early gestational age ( 37 weeks) and low birth weig ( 2500 g) were not statistically significant predictors of moderate hyperopia in childhood. Conclusions: Moderate hyperopia was strongly associated with many common eye conditions, partic amblyopia and strabismus, in older children. Birth parameters did not predict moderate hyp Ophthalmology 2008;115:678 – 685 © 2008 by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.