Differences in choroidal responses to near work between myopic children and young adults

Abstract Background Near work is generally considered as a risk factor for myopia onset and progression. This study aimed to investigate the choroidal responses to a brief-period of near work in children and young adults. Methods Thirty myopic medical students (aged 18–28 years) and 30 myopic children (aged 8–12 years) participated in this study. The submacular total choroidal area (TCA), luminal area (LA), stromal area (SA), choroidal vascularity index (CVI) and choriocapillaris flow deficit (CcFD), as well as subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) were measured with swept-source optical coherence tomography/optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCT/OCTA) before and immediately after 20 min, 40 min, 60 min of near work at a distance of 33 cm. Results In adults, 20 min of near work induced a significant reduction in SFCT (− 5.1 ± 6.5 μm), LA [(− 19.2 ± 18.6) × 103 μm2], SA [(− 8.2 ± 12.6) × 103 μm2] and TCA [(− 27.4 ± 24.9) × 103 μm2] (all P