Longitudinal changes in peripheral refraction with age.

The changes in the patterns of refraction (skiagrams) over the central +/-35 degrees of the horizontal field of 3 originally near-emmetropic eyes of 2 subjects were determined over a time interval of 26 years. The subjects were aged 32 and 40 years at the time of the first measurements. The central refractions shifted in the expected hyperopic direction, while the radial and tangential image fields in the periphery became more myopic. These longitudinal results agree with recent transverse studies, provided that allowance is made for the change in central refraction: the reported loss with age in peripheral visual performance does not seem to be attributable to markedly increased peripheral astigmatism.