Choroidal thickness in myopic children: one‐year follow‐up study with 0.01% atropine eye drops
| Author | Affiliation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Grzybowski, Andrzej | University of Warmia and Mazury | PL | Institute for Research in Ophthalmology | PL |
| Date | Volume | Issue | Start Page | End Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2025-01-19 | 103 | Suppl. 284 | 1 | 1 |
Aims/Purpose: Atropine eye drops of various concentrations are widely used to slow the progression of myopia, yet the precise mechanism through which atropine achieves this control remains unclear (1). Studies have shown that choroidal thickness (ChT) decreases as myopia progresses (2) and atropine eye drops have been shown to increase choroidal thickness (3). Methods: Healthy children aged 6‐12 years with cycloplegic spherical equivalent (SE) from ‐0.5 D to ‐5.0 D and astigmatism ≤1.5D were included. Participants were assigned to the control group or 0.01% atropine eye drops group. The atropine group received 0.01% atropine eye drops once in the evening for 1 year. ChT was assessed in 9 areas using the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) automated grid layout with swept‐source optical coherence tomography (SS‐OCT) at the baseline and after 1‐year follow‐up. Only measurements of the right eye were analyzed. Results: 31 children were in the control group and 35 in the 0.01% atropine group. The median age was 10 (6‐12) years in the control group and 10 (7‐12) years in the 0.01% atropine group (p = 0.880). There were 22 girls in the control group and 20 in the 0.01% atropine group (p = 0.244). Baseline ChT in all 9 areas were similar between the groups (p > 0.05). After 1‐year follow‐up, changes in choroidal thickness remained similar in all 9 areas between the control and 0.01% atropine groups (p > 0.05). Conclusions: The administration of 0.01% atropine eye drops did not result in a significant change in ChT over 1‐year follow‐up period compared to the control group in myopic children. Future research should focus on longer follow‐up periods and explore different concentrations of atropine to fully understand its effects on ChT. References Upadhyay A, Beuerman RW. Biological Mechanisms of Atropine Control of Myopia. Eye Contact Lens. 2020 May;46(3):129‐135. doi: 10.1097/ICL.0000000000000677. PMID: 31899695; PMCID: PMC7176345. Gupta P, Saw SM, Cheung CY, et al. Choroidal thickness and high myopia: a case‐control study of young Chinese men in Singapore. Acta Ophthalmol. 2015;93(7):e585‐e592. doi:10.1111/aos.12631 Li W, Jiang R, Zhu Y, Zhou J, Cui C. Effect of 0.01% atropine eye drops on choroidal thickness in myopic children. J Fr Ophtalmol. 2020;43(9):862‐868. doi:10.1016/j.jfo.2020.04.023