Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42527823›Full record

ArticleOphthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists)2026

Ocular Dominance is Associated With Interocular Asymmetry in Refractive Error and Axial Length Across Childhood and Early Adulthood.

Síofra C Harrington, Gareth Lingham, James Loughman, Ian Flitcroft, David A Mackey, Michael Moore

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Article in Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Síofra C HarringtonSchool of Physics, Clinical and Optometric Sciences, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. siofra.harrington@tudublin.ie.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2667-1796
Gareth LinghamCentre for Eye Research Ireland (CERI), Sustainability and Health Research Hub (SHRH), Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8957-0733
James LoughmanSchool of Physics, Clinical and Optometric Sciences, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3130-8991
Ian FlitcroftSchool of Physics, Clinical and Optometric Sciences, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7004-6026
David A MackeyCentre for Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (incorporating Lions Eye Institute), University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7914-4709
Michael MooreSchool of Physics, Clinical and Optometric Sciences, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3919-444X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo determine whether ocular dominance is associated with systematic interocular asymmetry in spherical equivalent refraction (SER) and axial length (AL) across childhood and early adulthood, and assess whether such asymmetry exceeds laterality effects.

methodsData were analysed from three population-based cohorts: 728 children (6-7-year-olds) and 898 adolescents (12-13-year-olds) from Ireland and 303 young adults (25-30-year-olds) from Western Australia. Ocular dominance was assessed using sighting tests. SER was measured by cycloplegic autorefraction and AL by optical biometry. Interocular differences were evaluated using paired comparisons, concordance correlation coefficients (CCC), Deming regression, Bland-Altman analyses and mediation modelling. Analyses were stratified by refractive status and anisometropia.

resultsAcross all age groups, right-left differences in SER and AL were minimal (mean differences <0.05 D and <0.05 mm in children and adolescents), with small, significant laterality effects observed only in young adults (-0.13 D in SER; 0.06 mm in AL). In contrast, dominant-non-dominant comparisons demonstrated consistent directional asymmetry: the dominant eye was less hyperopic/more myopic (-0.09 D at 6-7 years; -0.10 D at 12-13 years; -0.08 D at 25-30 years) and longer (0.03-0.06 mm; all p < 0.05). Deming regression and Bland-Altman analyses confirmed systematic deviation from interocular symmetry, most pronounced in childhood. Mediation analyses indicated that ocular dominance statistically explained over 85% of the observed interocular asymmetry, independent of laterality. Dominance-related asymmetry was most evident in non-myopes (SER -0.09 to -0.36 D; AL 0.03-0.06 mm), attenuated in myopia and amplified in anisometropia (SER up to -1.09 D; AL up to 0.42 mm), particularly in younger cohorts.

conclusionIn this cross-sectional analysis, ocular dominance was associated with small but systematic interocular asymmetry in SER and AL across childhood and early adulthood, which exceeds laterality effects. Dominance-related asymmetry was attenuated in myopia and amplified in anisometropia. Ocular dominance should be considered when analysing interocular refractive and biometric data in research and clinical contexts.

Indexed as

Axial Length, EyeDominance, OcularRefraction, OcularRefractive ErrorsAdolescentAdultBiometryChildFemaleHumansMaleYoung AdultAnisometropiaAxial lengthInterocular asymmetryMyopiaOcular dominanceRefractive error

Identifiers

PMID42527823
PMCPMC13545045

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