Astigmatism Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Astigmatism, including details on cornea, retina, treatment, types, signs, tests.

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

Ip JM, Kifley A, Rose KA, Mitchell P

Department of Ophthalmology, University of Sydney (Centre for Vision Research, Westmead Hospital), the Westmead Millennium Institute, and the Vision Co-operative Research Centre, Sydney, Australia.

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.

Published 30 July 2007 in Am J Ophthalmol, 144(2): 304-6.
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