SYDNEY, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Researchers have created the equivalent of infant growth curve charts for children's eyes to help clinicians identify the warning signs of myopia, or short-sightedness, at an early stage.
The study, co-led by the University of Western Australia (UWA), analyzed almost 560,000 eye measurements from 147,573 children and young people in Australia, Europe and East Asia to develop the first age-, sex- and region-specific centile charts for eye length, similar to height and weight growth charts used for babies and children, a UWA statement said on Tuesday.
Researchers said excessive elongation of the eye is a major cause of myopia, a condition that is becoming increasingly common worldwide and can lead to permanent vision loss later in life.
About 25 percent of Australians and 35-40 percent of the global population currently have myopia, with the worldwide prevalence projected to reach 50 percent by 2050. In parts of Southeast and East Asia, up to 80 percent of young adults have myopia, said the findings published in JAMA (The Journal of the American Medical Association) Ophthalmology.
Study co-lead Gareth Lingham from UWA's Medical School said the lack of age-, sex- and region-specific reference values has made it difficult for clinicians to monitor eye growth and identify children at risk of myopia early.
"Although these centile charts are not intended to diagnose myopia, they could help clinicians identify whether a child's eye growth is unusually rapid, how they compare with peers in their region, and whether they are at risk," said UWA Professor David Mackey, who is now leading a study to improve the new charts. ■
