Treatment of astigmatism-related amblyopia in 3- to 5-year-old children

AbstractBest-corrected acuity was measured for vertical and horizontal gratings and for Lea Symbols® recognition acuity in 3- to 5-year-old children with high astigmatism and in non-astigmatic children. There was significant amblyopia among astigmatic children at baseline. There was no evidence that eyeglass correction of astigmatism resulted in a reduction in amblyopia over a 4-month average treatment duration (although vision in astigmatic children was significantly improved immediately upon eyeglass correction, indicating that eyeglass correction did provide a visual benefit). Treatment outcome results are discussed in terms of both methodological issues and theoretical implications

Visual Psychophysics and Physiological Optics Longitudinal Change and Stability of Refractive, Keratometric, and Internal Astigmatism in Childhood

PURPOSE. To assess longitudinal change in refractive, keratometric, and internal astigmatism in a sample of students from a population with a high prevalence of with-the-rule (WTR) astigmatism and to determine the optical origins of changes in refractive astigmatism. METHODS. A retrospective analysis of longitudinal measurements of right eye refractive and keratometric astigmatism in Tohono O'odham Native American children was conducted. Changes in refractive and keratometric astigmatism per year were compared in a younger cohort (n ¼ 1594, 3 to <11 years old) and an older cohort (n ¼ 648, 11 to <19 years old). Data were analyzed in clinical notation (Cyl) and vector notation (J0, J45). RESULTS. On average, refractive astigmatism (means: 1.19 diopters [D] Cyl, þ0.54 J0, þ0.03 J45) resulted primarily from WTR corneal astigmatism (means: þ0.85 J0, À0.02 J45) and against-the-rule (ATR) internal astigmatism (means: À0.31 J0, þ0.05 J45). Mean longitudinal changes in astigmatism were statistically significant (younger cohort À0.02 D/y Cyl; older cohort þ0.06 D/y Cyl). In the younger cohort, astigmatism decreased with age in low and moderate astigmats (<3.00 D) and increased with age in high astigmats ( ‡3.00 D). In the older cohort, astigmatism increased with age across all levels of astigmatism. Longitudinal changes in keratometric and internal astigmatism were negatively correlated in both cohorts. CONCLUSIONS. Cross-sectional data suggest the presence of a constant ATR contribution from internal astigmatism (0.60 D Cyl) that is close to the 0.50 D ATR constant reported by Javal and others. Highly astigmatic 3-to <11-year-old children and children older than age 11 years show a small (not clinically significant) increase in astigmatism with age. A negative correlation between changes in keratometric astigmatism and internal astigmatism suggests an active compensation that may contribute to the stability of astigmatism in Tohono O'odham children. Keywords: astigmatism, refractive error development, children, Native American R esearch conducted over the past 15 years has yielded a large longitudinal database on refractive development in Tohono O'odham children. There is a high prevalence of astigmatism among elementary school children who are members of this Native American tribe. 1-4 The high prevalence of refractive astigmatism in Tohono O'odham children is present in infancy and persists at least through elementary school. 1,2,4-7 A longitudinal study of corneal astigmatism in 960 Tohono O'odham children aged 6 months through 7 years showed that in early development (6 months to <3 years), astigmatism decreased in children with high astigmatism (À0.37 diopters [D]/y) and remained stable in children with little or no astigmatism (þ0.05 D/y). 7 From age 3 through 7 years, astigmatism decreased in children with both high astigmatism (À0.11 D/y) and low/no astigmatism (À0.03 D/y). 7 A detailed account of changes in astigmatism beyond age 7 years in this population has not yet been reported. However, a recent report on change in spherical equivalent (M) in a longitudinal sample of Tohono O'odham students ages 3 to 18 years showed that rate of change in M with age was significantly greater for children who were hyperopic (M ‡ þ2.00) prior to age 5.5 years, consistent with continued emmetropization into the school years. In addition, higher levels of refractive astigmatism were associated with predicted myopia onset (M À0.75 D) by age 18 years. 9 This relation, specifically the relation between keratometric and refractive (total) astigmatism, was originally described by Javal in 1890 10,11 : Refractive Astigmatism ¼ 1.25(Keratometric Astigmatism) À 0.50 D 3 90. A more recent empirically based modification of Javal's rule suggests that WTR and ATR refractive astigmatism can be predicted by subtracting an ATR constant (0.50 D) from the magnitude of keratometric astigmatism, with little or no adjustment based on magnitude of keratometric astigmatism. 10 Little is known about how the relation between keratometric and internal astigmatism changes with development in childhood. For example, it is not known if magnitude of AT

Longitudinal assessment of daily activity patterns on weight change after involuntary job loss: the ADAPT study protocol

Background: The World Health Organization has identified obesity as one of the most visible and neglected public health problems worldwide. Meta-analytic studies suggest that insufficient sleep increases the risk of developing obesity and related serious medical conditions. Unfortunately, the nationwide average sleep duration has steadily declined over the last two decades with 25% of U.S. adults reporting insufficient sleep. Stress is also an important indirect factor in obesity, and chronic stress and laboratory-induced stress negatively impact sleep. Despite what we know from basic sciences about (a) stress and sleep and (b) sleep and obesity, we know very little about how these factors actually manifest in a natural environment. The Assessing Daily Activity Patterns Through Occupational Transitions (ADAPT) study tests whether sleep disruption plays a key role in the development of obesity for individuals exposed to involuntary job loss, a life event that is often stressful and disrupting to an individual’s daily routine. Methods: This is an 18-month closed, cohort research design examining social rhythms, sleep, dietary intake, energy expenditure, waist circumference, and weight gain over 18 months in individuals who have sustained involuntary job loss. Approximately 332 participants who lost their job within the last 3 months are recruited from flyers within the Arizona Department of Economic Security (AZDES) Unemployment Insurance Administration application packets and other related postings. Multivariate growth curve modeling will be used to investigate the temporal precedence of changes in social rhythms, sleep, and weight gain. Discussion It is hypothesized that: (1) unemployed individuals with less consistent social rhythms and worse sleep will have steeper weight gain trajectories over 18 months than unemployed individuals with stable social rhythms and better sleep; (2) disrupted sleep will mediate the relationship between social rhythm disruption and weight gain; and (3) reemployment will be associated with a reversal in the negative trajectories outlined above. Positive findings will provide support for the development of obesity prevention campaigns targeting sleep and social rhythms in an accessible subgroup of vulnerable individuals

Association Between Sleep Disordered Breathing and Behavior in School-Aged Children: The Tucson Children's Assessment of Sleep Apnea Study

Study Objectives—This study analyzed the association between the Respiratory Disturbance Index (RDI) and two behavior measures, the Conners’ Parent Rating Scale (CPRS-R) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) in school-aged children to determine whether there is an optimal threshold of Sleep-disordered Breathing (SDB) associated with increased risk of behavior problems. Methods—The Tucson Children’s Assessment of Sleep Apnea Study (TuCASA) is an observational cohort study of 6–11 year old Caucasian and Hispanic children designed to assess the anatomic, physiologic and neurocognitive correlates of SDB. 403 children with both polysomnography (PSG) and behavioral data were included in this analysis. Three definitions of SDB were used: RDI independent of oxygen desaturation (RDI0), RDI with 2% oxygen desaturation (RDI2) and RDI with 3% oxygen desaturation (RDI3). T-scored behavioral data were dichotomized at a cutoff point of 65, a score indicative of moderate to severe clinical impairment. Logistic regression was used to access the risk associated with SDB. Results—The analyses conducted using three different definitions of RDI suggest that the likelihood of having a clinically significant CPRS-R or CBCL subscale score was not necessarily progressive or linear across RDI categories. Cutoff points and prevalences for each definition of RDI proposed to be indicators of clinically significant SDB were RDI0 ≥ 7 (19.38%), RDI2 ≥ 2 (29.38%) and RDI3 ≥ 0.5 (23.96%) events per hour of sleep. Behaviors such as CPRS oppositional, social problems, psychosomatic and CBCL somatic complaints, social problems and aggressive behaviors were found to be significantly associated with SDB. Conclusions—This analysis found an increased risk of behavior problems such as somatic complaints, oppositional or aggressive behaviors and social problems associated with sleep- disordered breathing in school-aged children. RDI cut points for three definitions of SDB are proposed: 7 for RDI0, 2 for RDI2, and 0.5 for RDI3 respectively

High cytomegalovirus serology and subsequent COPD-related mortality: a longitudinal study

Background: Positive serology for cytomegalovirus (CMV) has been associated with all-cause mortality risk but its role in COPD mortality is unknown. The objective of the present study was to assess the relationship between CMV serology and COPD mortality. Methods: We analysed data from 806 participants in the Tucson Epidemiological Study of Airway Obstructive Disease who, at enrolment, were aged 28-70 years and had completed lung function tests. We tested CMV serology in sera from enrolment and defined "high CMV serology" as being in the highest tertile. Vital status, date and cause of death were assessed through death certificates and/or linkage with the National Death Index up to January 2017. The association of CMV serology with all-cause and causespecific mortality risk was tested in Cox models adjusted for age, sex, level of education, body mass index, smoking status and pack-years. Results: High CMV serology was marginally associated with all-cause mortality (p=0.071) but the effect was inversely dependent on age, with the association being much stronger among participants <55 years than among participants.55 years at enrolment ( p-value for CMV-by-age interaction <0.001). Compared with low CMV serology, high CMV serology was associated with mortality from COPD among all subjects (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 2.38, 95% CI 1.11-5.08; p=0.025) and particularly in subjects <55 years old at enrolment (HR 5.40, 95% CI 1.73-16.9; p=0.004). Consistent with these results, high CMV serology also predicted mortality risk among subjects who already had airflow limitation at enrolment (HR 2.10, 95% CI 1.20-3.68; p=0.009). Conclusions: We report a strong relationship between CMV serology and the risk of dying from COPD, and thus identify a novel risk factor for COPD mortality.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Outcome of asthma and wheezing in the first 6 years of life follow-up through adolescence

Rationale: The effect of early life wheezing on respiratory function and continued symptoms through adolescence has not been fully described. Using data from a population-based birth cohort in Tucson, Arizona, we previously described four phenotypes based on the occurrence of wheezing lower respiratory illnesses before age 3 yr and active wheeze at age 6 yr: never wheezers (n = 425), transient early wheezers (n = 164), persistent wheezers (n = 113), and late-onset wheezers (n = 124). Objective: We sought to determine the prognosis for these phenotypes, with reference to lung function and symptoms, through adolescence. Methods: Current wheeze was assessed by questionnaire, lung function was measured by conventional spirometry, and atopy was determined by skin prick tests. Results: The prevalence of atopy and wheeze by age 16 yr was similar for never and transient wheezers and for persistent and late-onset wheezers. Both transient early, and persistent wheezers had significantly lower FEF(25–75) (–259 ml/s, p < 0.001, and –260 ml/s, p = 0.001, respectively), FEV(1) (–75 ml, p = 0.02, and –87 ml, p = 0.03, respectively), and FEV(1):FVC ratio (–1.9%, p = 0.002, and –2.5%, p = 0.001, respectively) through age 16 yr compared with never wheezers. Late-onset wheezers had levels of lung function similar to those of never wheezers through age 16 yr. There was no significant change in lung function among subjects with any of the four phenotypes, relative to their peers, from age 6 to 16 yr. Conclusion: Patterns of wheezing prevalence and levels of lung function are established by age 6 yr and do not appear to change significantly by age 16 yr in children who start having asthmalike symptoms during the preschool years