The Clinical Features and Concomitant Diseases in Preschool High Myopia

Abstract

The aim of this study was to summarize the clinical and demographic findings of preschool children presenting to the ophthalmology clinic with high myopia and to compare them with controls. A retrospective chart review was performed in patients with myopia of -6D or higher before the age of 4 years. The control group of similar age and sex was created from the patients presenting to the ophthalmology department for routine eye examination without any apparent complaint. Child and parent characteristics, concomitant ocular and systemic pathologies were recorded and analyzed. Seventy patients (35 cases with high myopia and 35 controls) were included in the study. Compared to controls, the cases in the study group had significantly higher rate of birth in spring (37.1% vs 8.6%), higher rate of strabismus (57.1% vs 14.3%) and paternal smoking (54.3% vs 37.1%), higher parental consanguinity (34.3% vs 11.4%) and higher rate of concomitant diseases (51.4% vs 17.1%). Birth season, paternal smoking and consanguinity were found to correlate with high myopia in children under the age of 4. High rates of ocular and systemic comorbidities should be considered in patients with high myopia at preschool age. © 2023 Ondokuz Mayis Universitesi. All rights reserved.