Family history of myopia is not related to the final amount of refractive error in low and moderate myopia

Background: Previous research has found an association between family history and presence of myopia. It is possible that family history also could be related to the final amount of refractive error developed. If that were true, then family history of myopia could have predictive value for the amount of refractive error a child or young adult would develop after first lens prescription. Methods: Consecutive myopic adult outpatients were enrolled during the year 2003. They received a refractive examination and a questionnaire concerning age of onset of lens use, academic achievement, and parental history of myopia. Results: In the group of 271 mild and moderate myopes (myopia lower than −6 D) there were 157 subjects with at least one myopic parent and 114 subjects without family history. The presence or absence of a family history of myopia was not associated with either the final myopic refractive error (−3.2 ± 1.5 D and −2.9 ± 1.3 D, respectively, P = 0.08) or the age of onset of lens use (17.0 ± 6.2 years vs 18.1 ± 6.7 years, respectively, P = 0.15). Conclusions: In the present retrospective study of a clinical sample of mild and moderate myopic subjects, family history of myopia did not show predictive value for either the age of first prescription, or the final refractive error developed in adulthood.