Investigation of ocular biometry in 4– to 9-year-old Chinese children

PURPOSE: To investigate the distribution and changes in ocular biometry in 4-to to 9-year-old Chinese children and to compare the differences between age and genders in these parameters. METHODS: This was a school-based cross-sectional study. A total of 1,528 Chinese children, aged 4–9 years, from one primary school and 12 kindergartens, were included in the study. Axial length, corneal curvature, anterior chamber depth, and corneal diameter were measured for each child. RESULTS: AL and anterior chamber depth gradually increased with age in both genders. No significant changes in corneal curvature or corneal diameter were detected at different ages in either genders group. The mean ALs of males and females were 22.94 ± 0.80 mm and 22.38 ± 0.79 mm, respectively. The mean corneal curvatures of males and females were 43.05 ± 1.37 D and 43.75 ± 1.48 D, respectively. The mean anterior chamber depth of males and females were 3.47 ± 0.24 mm and 3.38 ± 0.25 mm, respectively. The mean corneal diameter of males and females were 12.08 ± 0.43 mm and 11.94 ± 0.44 mm, respectively. Females had consistently shorter ALs, shorter anterior chamber depth, smaller corneal diameter, and steeper corneal curvatures than males at any age. CONCLUSIONS: Boys had larger dimensions than girls for all ocular parameters except corneal curvature (flatter). Boys and girls showed similar trends for all parameters. Axial length and anterior chamber depth increased from 4 to 9 years of age, whereas corneal diameter and curvature did not change with age in either genders.