Purpose  To determine the relationships of ocular dominance and different types of anisometropia in Chinese children.
Methods Chinese children (n=55) of hyperopic, myopic or mixed anisometropia with the threshold level of anisometropia ≥1.75D were consecutively recruited and studied in a centralized eye clinic. All Subjects underwent standard ocular examinations including slit-lamp microscopy, refractive error and axial length assessments. Ocular dominance was assessed with the hole-in-the-card test. Subjects with history of glasses wearing were excluded. Subjects with strabismus, amblyopia and other ocular disorders were excluded except amblyopia in hyperopic anisometropia.
Results  Among the 55 participants, 21 had hyperopic, 17 had myopic and 17 had mixed anisometropia, right-eye-dominance was observed in 71.4%, 52.9% and 70.6% of the children, respectively. In the hyperopic anisometropia group, the dominant eyes had smaller spherical equivalent (SE), better best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and longer axial. In the mixed and myopic anisometropia groups, no significant difference was noticed in all measurements.
Conclusions Ocular dominance may relate to hyperopic anisometropia in children. Our findings indicated that the eyes with better visual acuity, axial length tend to axial length of emmetropia and smaller lower degree of hyperopic might be easy to gradually develop into dominant eye in hyperopic anisometropia in the acquired visual environment in childhood.