Quantitative Evaluation of Peripapillary Structure and Microcirculation in Children and Adolescents With Myopia.

PURPOSE: To characterize alterations in peripapillary structural and microvascular features in children and adolescents with myopia across different stages of severity using swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA). METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted with the enrollment of 106 eyes from 54 children. Three groups of Group A (AL ≤ 24 mm, 34 eyes), Group B (24 < AL < 25 mm, 37 eyes), and Group C (AL ≥ 2 5 mm, 35 eyes) were established based on the axial length (AL) of the included participants. All participants completed a standardized ophthalmic examination protocol, including best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), autorefraction, AL and SS-OCTA. The specific parameters were the peripapillary retinal thickness (pRT), peripapillary choroidal thickness (pCT), peripapillary superficial vascular complex density (pSVD), peripapillary deep vascular complex density (pDVD), peripapillary choroidal vessel volume (pCVV) and peripapillary choroidal vascular index (pCVI). Data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance and Pearson correlation analysis. RESULTS: There were significant differences in pRT within the NS, NI, IT, TS, and ST regions with increasing AL (p < 0.05). The value of pCT decreased in the IT, TI, TS, and ST regions, while pDVD declined in the NS, IT, TI, TS, and ST regions, and pCVV decreased in the NS, NI, IN, IT, TI, and TS regions. Conversely, pSVD increased in the NS, NI, IT, TI, TS, and ST regions (all p < 0.05). Furthermore, significant positive correlations were found between pRT and pSVD, pDVD and pCT, pCVV and pCT, pCVV and pDVD, as well as pCVI and pCVV (R = 0.346, 0.297, 0.946, 0.298, and 0.361, all p < 0.05, respectively). Meanwhile, significant negative correlations were observed between AL and pCT, AL and pDVD, AL and pCVV, pRT and pDVD, pRT and pCVI, pSVD and pDVD, as well as pSVD and pCVV (R = -0.304, -0.236, -0.288, -0.402, -0.195, -0.332, and -0.203, all p < 0.05, respectively). CONCLUSION: The pRT shows a significant thinning trend when AL exceeds 25 mm. AL has negative correlations with pCT and pDVD, but positive correlations with pSVD in the IT, TI, ST, and TS regions. These findings highlight the potential of peripapillary structural parameters for monitoring myopia progression.