Longitudinal Study of Changes in Retinal Curvature and its Relationship With Myopia Shift in Chinese Children.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to investigate longitudinal changes in retinal curvature (RC) among Chinese children and its relationship with myopia progression.

METHODS

This 12-month longitudinal study included children aged 6 to 16 years, divided into groups based on changes in spherical equivalent refraction (SER) over 1 year: the myopic shift group and the non-myopic shift group. Comprehensive examinations including swept-source optical coherence tomography were performed in each visit. RC was assessed using a customized 3D reconstruction algorithm. The central, temporal, nasal, superior, and inferior quadrates were further divided into nine regions and calculated the average curvature for each. The retinal surface asymmetry index (R-SAI) was calculated to describe regional differences in RC. Statistical analyses were performed to explore correlations between RC changes and myopia progression.

RESULTS

Significant increases in central RC were observed in the myopic shift group, particularly in the 0 to 6 mm-diameter central retinal region. Regional analysis showed that significant changes in curvature were observed in the myopic shift group particularly in the 0 to 3 mm central circle (C0), temporal quadrate of 3 to 6 mm (T1), and 6 to 9 mm ring (T2) and inferior quadrate of 3 to 6 mm ring (I1), with the most predominant increase in the T1 region. Negative correlation was found between baseline nasal-temporal R-SAI and myopic shift after controlling confounders. Age, axial length (AL) elongation, and smaller baseline curvature were associated with larger RC changes in the central macular region.

CONCLUSIONS

RC changes are closely linked to myopia shift. Longitudinal monitoring of RC can serve as a quantitative measure for assessing morphological changes associated with myopia shift in children.