Article Text
PDF
Abstract
Background/aims Animal models have shown that the absence of high-frequency visual information can precipitate the onset of myopia, but this relationship remains unclear in humans. This study aims to explore the association between the spatial frequency content of the visual environment and myopia in children.
Methods Images from the rooms of children and their frequently visited outdoor areas were taken by their parents and collected by the researcher through questionnaires. The spatial frequency was quantified using Matlab. Cycloplegic refraction was used to measure the spherical equivalent (SE), and IOL Master was used to measure axial length (AL) and corneal radius (CR). AL/CR ratio was calculated.
Results The study included 566 children with an average age of (8.04±1.47) years, of which 270 were girls (47.7%), and the average SE was (0.70±1.21) D. Image analysis revealed that indoor spatial frequency slope was lower than that of the outdoor environment (−1.43±0.18 vs −1.11±0.23, p<0.001). There were 79 myopic individuals (14.0%). Images from indoor content of myopic children had a lower spatial frequency slope than non-myopic children (−1.47±0.16 vs 1.43±0.18, p=0.03) while there was no significant difference in outdoor spatial frequency slope. Regression analysis indicated that the indoor spatial frequency slope was positively associated with SE value (β=0.60, p=0.02) and inversely related to myopia (OR=0.24, p<0.05).
Conclusion The spatial frequency of the outdoor environment is significantly higher than that of the indoor environment. Indoor spatial frequency is related to children’s refractive status, with lower indoor spatial frequency being associated with a higher degree of myopia.
- Epidemiology
- Public health
- Risk Factors
- Surveys and Questionnaires
- Child health (paediatrics)
Data availability statement
Data are available on reasonable request. The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Statistics from Altmetric.com
Data availability statement
Data are available on reasonable request. The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Footnotes
Contributors D-LL attended the investigation, performed the statistical analyses and drafted the manuscript. X-XD revised the manuscript. J-L-XY attended the investigation and revised the manuscript. CL and AG revised the manuscript. C-WP conceptualised the question, supervised the study, revised the manuscript and provided funding for the project. C-WP is the guarantor. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Funding This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 82122059).
Disclaimer The sponsor or funding organisation had no role in the design or conduct of this research.
Competing interests None declared.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.