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Astigmatism, amblyopia most prevalent causes of visual loss in Australian children
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Uncorrected astigmatism and amblyopia were the most frequent causes of visual impairment in a population of Australian children, according to a study. The study authors said they found a “relatively low” prevalence of visual impairment in the population-based study.
Dana Robaei, MBBS, MPH, and colleagues at the University of Sydney studied 1,738 children to determine the causes of visual loss and to describe the distribution of visual acuity. At the time of the study, most children were 6 years old.
“Any” visual impairment was defined as visual acuity of less than 20/40, and “severe” visual impairment was defined as visual acuity of 20/200 or worse. Myopia was defined as spherical equivalent refraction of –0.5 D or worse, and hyperopia was defined as spherical equivalent refraction of +2 D or more, deemed significant at +3 D or more.
Mean visual acuity was 20/25. Uncorrected visual impairment was found in the better eye of 23 children (1.3%) and in the worse eye of 71 children (4.1%). The prevalence of impairment was higher in girls than in boys and higher among children of lower socioeconomic status. Refractive error was the most frequent cause (69%), followed by amblyopia (22.5%). Astigmatism was the principal refractive error causing visual impairment and was frequently uncorrected, the authors noted.
The study is published in the July issue of Ophthalmology.