Retinal and Choroidal Changes in Children with Moderate-to-High Hyperopia.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, ganglion cell layer (GCL) thickness, and choroidal thickness in children with moderate-to-high hyperopia (MHH).

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that enrolled 53 children with MHH and 53 emmetropic children. Subjects with a spherical equivalent refraction (SER) of +4.0 D or higher were included in the MHH group, and subjects with SER between -1.0 D and +1.0 D were included in the emmetropic group. Ophthalmic examinations, including uncorrected visual acuity, cycloplegic refraction, slit-lamp examination, axial length, and swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT; DRI OCT Triton-1, Topcon, Tokyo, Japan), were performed.

Results: The RNFL and GCL in the temporal and inferior quadrants in 1-3 mm of the macular fovea were thinner in the MHH group than in the emmetropic group (all < 0.05). The MHH group also had a thicker choroidal thickness in all regions (all < 0.05). The SER was independently correlated with the average choroidal thickness in the optic disc and fovea (coefficient = 4.853, < 0.001 for the optic disc; coefficient = 5.523, =0.004 for the fovea), while axial length was negatively correlated with choroidal thickness (coefficient = -12.649, < 0.001). Axial length was positively associated with RNFL and GCL thickness in the temporal quadrant in 1-3 mm of the macular fovea (coefficient = 0.966, =0.007 for RNFL and coefficient = 1.476, =0.011 for the macular fovea).

Conclusion: Compared with emmetropic children, MMH children had greater choroidal thickness. The characteristics of the RNFL and GCL thickness in MMH children were different from those in emmetropic children.