Introduction: Myopia is the most common eye disorder especially in Asia. However, the information on myopic progression and ocular growth among preschool children, who undergo rapid changes, is limited. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, incidence of myopia and myopic progression among preschool children in Hong Kong.
Materials and methods: A kindergarten was randomly chosen in Hong Kong, China. Preschool children aged 2 to 6 years attending the selected kindergarten were invited to participate. One hundred and eight children completed the 5-year cohort study. Refractive error and axial ocular dimensions were the main outcome measures.
Results: A total of 255 preschool children with a mean age of 4.96 (SD, 0.90) years were examined in the initial examination. Only 4.6% children had myopia of at least -0.50 D. The prevalence of myopia increased almost 10-fold to 43.5% after 5 years in the final examination. The annual incidence of myopia was 8.2%. The mean increase in axial length was 1.72 mm (SD, 0.80 mm) over the 5-year period (P < 0.001). The lens thickness decreased significantly from 3.80 mm (SD, 0.37 mm) to 3.74 mm (SD, 0.51 mm) whereas the vitreous chamber depth increased significantly from 15.01 mm (SD, 0.68 mm) to 16.42 mm (SD, 0.88 mm) (both P < 0.001). Children who were younger or were less hypermetropic at the initial examination was having greater myopic progression (P = 0.015, P < 0.001 respectively).
Conclusion: This is the first prospective study to investigate the myopic progression and ocular growth among preschool children. Hong Kong has a high prevalence of myopia even in preschool children. They also experience a significant myopic shift and ocular growth. Further studies on the prevention of myopic development or progression should be targeted on this population.