CHARACTERISTICS OF OPTIC DISC IN HEALTHY SCHOOL CHILDREN

Abstract

The ophthalmoscopic features of the optic discs were studied in a series of 411 non-selected school children representing 4 age groups from 7-15 yr. The cup disc diameter ratios (C/D) in the majority of the eyes (58.5%) were 0.2-0.3, independent of the age group. The highest ratio recorded, 0.7, was found in 2 eyes of the series. An asymmetry of 0.2 or more in the C/D ratios of the eyes was found in 5.2% of the children. The correlation between C/D ratio and the age or refraction was not statistically significant, although a C/D ratio of 0.4 or more was significantly more common in myopia of -2.0 D [diopter] or more than in the other eyes. A preponderance of large C/D ratio was found in children with a birth wt of 2500 g or less, but the difference from the distribution in the total series was not significant. Cilioretinal arteries were detected in 17.7% of the eyes and in 27.3% of the subjects. In 8.1% of the children the condition was bilateral. In children with a birth wt of 2500 g or less, cilioretinal arteries were found in more than 1/2 of the cases.