The Correlation Between Accommodative Lag and Refractive Error in Minors Under 18.

Background: This study evaluates the correlation between accommodative lag and
refractive error in minors under the age of 18 in order to determine if the amount of
refractive error and type of refractive error (myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism) play a role
in the magnitude of accommodative lag. Methods: The population sample consisted of minors under the age of 18 who are patients at the University Eye Center at the Michigan College of Optometry. The data collected included a lag of accommodation via Nott Retinoscopy at 40 em, objective (auto-refraction or retinoscopy) and subjective refractive error, patient age, gender, and parental consent for research. Results: Myopic, emmetropic, and hyperopic children primarily had lags of ccommodation that fell within the normal range. Hyperopes who did not have a normal lag of accommodation were more likely to have a higher lag of accommodation rather than a lead. Myopes however, had an equal tendency for a higher lag or lead of accommodation. Conclusions: The majority of myopic, emmetropic, and hyperopic children all had accommodative lags that fell within the normal range of +0.50 to +0.75 diopters.