Refractive findings in children with astigmatic parents: the Sydney Myopia Study.

PURPOSE To examine the impact of parental astigmatism on astigmatic error and ocular biometric parameters in children. DESIGN Population-based cross-sectional study. METHODS Six-year-old children (n = 1,741; 78.9% response) and 12-year-old children (n = 2,367; 75.3% response) underwent a comprehensive eye examination, including cycloplegic autorefraction and ocular biometry. Astigmatism was determined in parents from spectacle prescriptions, which were supplied for 468 children. RESULTS The prevalence of astigmatism in six-year-old children with astigmatic parents was not significantly different from that of those without astigmatic parents (6.8% vs 2.8%); corresponding rates for 12-year-old children were 9.5% and 7.8% (both P > .05). No significant differences in mean cylinder and in ocular biometric parameters were observed between children with astigmatic parents and those with no astigmatic parents. CONCLUSIONS Parental astigmatism was not associated with a higher prevalence of childhood astigmatism and did not seem to have a significant impact on measures of ocular biometric parameters in children.