Peripheral and posterior pole retinal lesions in association with high myopia: A cross-sectional community-based study in Hong Kong

Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence and factors associated with posterior pole and peripheral retinal lesions in Chinese subjects with high myopia. Methods: Three hundred and thirty-seven asymptomatic adults with high myopia of refractive error ≤-6D were examined in a cross-sectional community-based study. All subjects underwent cycloplegic refraction, ultrasound biometry and dilated fundal examination. Statistical analysis was performed to assess factors associated with the presence of posterior pole and peripheral retinal lesions. Results: The mean age of the 337 subjects was 36.0 years and the mean spherical equivalent refractive error was -10.2D. Thirty-eight eyes (11.3%, 95% CI=8.1-15.2%) were found to have one or more posterior pole lesions and subjects with posterior pole lesion had significantly older age, longer axial length and higher degree of myopia (all P<0.001) compared with subjects without posterior pole lesion. After controlling for axial length, both the severity of refractive error and older age were significantly associated with the presence of posterior pole lesion (both P