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methods. One hundred fourteen subjects with a spherical equivalent within±3.50 D from emmetropia, corrected visual acuity of 20/40 or better, and normal findings in an ophthalmic examination were enrolled. The mean age was 43.2±24.5 years (range, 5.7–82.3). Monochromatic optical aberrations were measured with a Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensor after pharmacological dilation and cycloplegia.

results. For a 5-mm pupil and for third-to seventh-, third-, fourth-, and fifth-to seventh-order aberrations, as well as for coma and spherical aberrations, the root mean square (RMS) error as a function of age was modeled by a second-order polynomial regression. It decreased progressively through childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood; reached a minimum level during the fourth decade of life, then increased progressively with age, to age 82. For a 5-mm pupil, the mean modulation transfer function (MTF) was reduced in both the child-teenage (5–20 years; n= 29) and the elderly (61–82 years; n= 37) groups versus the middle-aged adult group (41–60 years; n= 24; P< 0.05). In young adults (21–40 years; n= 23) and elderly subjects, the MTF curves were very close and almost superimposed at spatial frequencies higher than 38 cyc/deg.

conclusions. Aberrations of the whole eye were objectively measured from early childhood to an advanced age, and the relationship between monochromatic aberrations and age has been shown to fit a quadratic model. The results suggest that the definition of emmetropization should be broadened to include the reduction of higher order aberrations.