By Jaica A. Nacario, OD, student of the Master in Clinical Optometry and Vision Therapy

Abstract

Myopia has increasingly been associated with binocular vision anomalies, yet the relationship between myopia severity and accommodative and convergence dysfunctions remains inconclusive. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of accommodative insufficiency (AI) and convergence insufficiency (CI) and examine their association with myopia severity among young adult myopic patients aged 18–26 years at the Vision and Eye Care Center, Centro Escolar University-Manila. A quantitative retrospective cross-sectional design was employed using 159 clinical records equally distributed among low, moderate, and high myopia groups. Accommodative function was assessed using Near Point of Accommodation (NPA), Amplitude of Accommodation (AA), and Positive Relative Accommodation (PRA), while vergence function was evaluated through Near Point of Convergence (NPC), phoria, Positive Fusional Vergence (PFV), and Accommodative Convergence/Accommodation (AC/A) ratio. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests were used for data analysis. Accommodative insufficiency was identified in 40.9% of the participants, while convergence insufficiency was observed in 32.7%. No significant association was found between accommodative insufficiency and myopia severity (χ² = 1.613, p = .446). However, convergence insufficiency demonstrated a significant association with myopia severity (χ² = 7.944, p = .019), with the highest frequency occurring among patients with high myopia. These findings highlight the importance of comprehensive binocular vision assessment in young adult myopic patients, particularly those with higher levels of myopia.

Keywords: myopia severity, accommodative insufficiency, convergence insufficiency, binocular vision, vergence dysfunction, young adult myopes.

Download the full Research Work: Nacario, Jaica A. (2026). Myopia Severity and Its Association with Convergence and Accommodative Insufficiencies: Implications for Vergence and Accommodative Function Among Young Adult Patients at the Vision and Eye Care Center, Centro Escolar University (Manila, Philippines). SAERA