Auto-refraction versus subjective refraction in different phakic and pseudophakic conditions: the Tehran Geriatric Eye Study (TGES)

Abstract

AIM: To compare the subjective refraction data with non-cycloplegic auto-refraction findings in the geriatric population above 60 years of age according to the different crystalline lens conditions. METHODS: This report is a part of the Tehran Geriatric Eye Study (TGES) that was conducted from January 2019 to January 2020 on elderly population 60 years of age and above in Tehran. The samples were selected by multi-stage stratified random cluster sampling. Of 3791 individual invitees, 3310 (response rate: 87.3%) participated in this study. All study participants underwent non-cycloplegic auto-refraction (auto-refractometer/keratometer Nidek ARK-510) and subjective refraction. RESULTS: Regarding the sphere, eyes with mixed cataract had the worst limits of agreement (LoA: -1.24 to 0.87) and the best agreement was related to the pseudophakic eyes (LoA: -0.83 to 0.54). The highest (0.27±0.31 D) and lowest (0.21±0.27 D) differences between the two methods regarding the cylinder power were observed in eyes with cortical cataract and normal eyes, respectively. The worst LoA between the two methods in measuring the cylinder power was related to the eyes with mixed cataract (LoA: -0.44 to 0.96). Regarding the J0 (horizontal/vertical components of astigmatism), the mean values of J0 obtained by auto-refraction were tended more toward against the rule direction in all crystalline lens conditions, and the two methods had the greatest difference in cortical cataract cases (0.05±0.17 D). Regarding the J45 (oblique components of astigmatism), the lowest (0±0.11 D) and highest (-0.01±0.12 D) differences were observed in normal eyes and eyes with cortical cataract, respectively. CONCLUSION: The auto-refractometer/keratometer Nidek ARK-510 results in the elderly with different phakic and pseudophakic conditions do not correspond well with subjective refraction findings. This discrepancy in spherical findings is more pronounced in individuals with mixed cataract than in other cases.