Birth weight and refractive state measured by Spot Vision Screener in children aged 40 months

OBJECTIVES: Children with retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) often have myopia. Even without ROP, birth weight and refractive state are related immediately after birth, but this relationship is reduced with increasing age. Here, we examined whether refractive state and birth weight were associated in 40-month-old children. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Of 541 children aged 40 months in Tsubame City, Japan, who underwent a medical examination between April 2018 and March 2019, this cross-sectional study enrolled 411 whose birth weights were available (76% of all). We measured the non-cycloplegic refraction using a Spot Vision Screener and correlated this with birth weight. Children were divided into three groups according to normal (2500–3500 g), high (>3500 g) or low (<2500 g) birth weights, and mean differences in spherical equivalent (SE) between the groups were analysed. RESULTS: The average SE for the right eye was 0.34 D (95% CI 0.28 to 0.40). Average birth weight was 3032.1 g (95% CI 2990.2 to 3073.9). Birth weight did not correlate with SE for the right eye (Pearson’s correlation, r=−0.015, p=0.765) or with the degree of anisometropia (Pearson’s correlation, r=−0.05, p=0.355). Furthermore, the mean SE showed no significant difference across the three groups of children with different birth weights (one-way analysis of variance, p=0.939). CONCLUSION: Data on refractive states and birth weight for 411 children of similar age in one Japanese city were analysed, showing that birth weight did not influence SE, J0, J45 and the absolute degree of anisometropia at about 40 months of age.