Size and position of the optic disc crescent in a white European population with myopia

David Hill, Rebekka Heitmar, Nicola Logan*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Significance: One of the first clinically observed changes in the retina with progressing myopia is in the form of optic disc crescents. If such a change is predictive of myopia progression, it could aid in myopia management interventions to target those at greatest risk of progression and subsequent ocular morbidity. Purpose: To investigate the type, dimension and appearance of optic disc crescents and how they relate to the level of myopia. Methods: Retrospective data collection analysing retinal photographs of healthy children and adults with a refractive error of ≤−0.50 D sphere and astigmatism ≤2.00 D. Crescent location, maximum crescent width and vertical disc diameter were measured from retinal images of right eyes only. Results: Four-hundred eyes with a mean spherical error (SER) of −0.50 to −14.00 D (aged 7–81 years) were included (83.5% exhibited a discernible crescent). Mean (SD) maximum crescent width was 0.24 (0.24) mm. Univariate analysis showed a significant correlation between crescent width and age (r = 0.26, p < 0.001). SER was correlated with crescent width when controlling for age (r = −0.45, p < 0.001) and to the ratio of crescent width to vertical disc diameter (r = −0.43, p < 0.001). Temporal crescents were the most frequently observed (74%), followed by inferior temporal crescents (17%). One-way between-groups analysis of variance showed a significant difference between crescent locations (F = 5.2, p < 0.001). Post-hoc analysis revealed significant differences in SER between those with no crescent versus an inferior-temporal crescent, as well as differences between those with temporal versus inferior-temporal crescents. Other crescent locations did not differ significantly in the level of myopia. Participants not exhibiting a crescent had the lowest level of myopia (mean [SD] −3.03 [1.97)] D), while those with inferior temporal crescents had a mean (SD) SER of −5.01 (2.37) D. Conclusion: In this white European population, higher levels of SER were associated with increasing crescent size. Eyes with inferior temporally located crescents were more myopic.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1115-1123
JournalOphthalmic and Physiological Optics
Volume42
Issue number5
Early online date20 Jun 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2022

Bibliographical note

© 2022 The Authors. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of College of Optometrists.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Funding Information: Open access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.

Keywords

  • crescent
  • myopia
  • optic nerve head
  • peripapillary atrophy

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