Prevalence of papillary changes and folliculosis of the palpebral conjunctiva in asymptomatic Chinese children

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of papillary changes of the upper palpebral conjunctiva and folliculosis of the lower palpebral conjunctiva in Chinese children with no history of contact lens wear. Method: Ninety-nine subjects (aged 6-15 years old) who were interested in a myopia control study were screened for papillary changes and folliculosis of the palpebral conjunctiva. Photodocumentation was performed under white and blue light (after the application of fluorescein) with a yellow filter and the photographs were graded by a group of practitioners according to a pre-set grading scale. Analysis was performed with the subjects divided into groups according to gender and age. Results: More than 48% of the subjects had clinically significant (≥Grade 3) papillary changes in the upper palpebral conjunctiva. The prevalence of significant folliculosis in the lower lid was about 33%. The prevalence of significant papillary changes and folliculosis were similar between genders. No differences were observed between younger (age ≤ 10 years old) and older (age > 10 years old) in papillary changes but younger subjects showed a higher prevalence of folliculosis. Conclusions: The prevalences of clinically significant papillary changes and folliculosis of unknown aetiology are high in Chinese children.