Childhood febrile illness and the risk of myopia in UK Biobank participants.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Historical reports suggest febrile illness during childhood is a risk factor for myopia. The establishment of the UK Biobank provided a unique opportunity to investigate this relationship.

Patients and methods

We studied a sample of UK Biobank participants of White ethnicity aged 40-69 years old who underwent autorefraction (N=91 592) and were classified as myopic (≤-0.75 Dioptres (D)), highly myopic (≤-6.00 D), or non-myopic (>-0.75 D). Self-reported age at diagnosis of past medical conditions was ascertained during an interview with a nurse at a Biobank assessment centre. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) for myopia or high myopia associated with a diagnosis before age 17 years of each of nine febrile illnesses, after adjusting

SUBMITTER: Guggenheim JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4834038 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature