No link found between decreased visual acuity, age or race in child cohort

Bilateral decreased visual acuity does not appear to be consistently associated with age, race or gender among preschool-aged children, even after considering best refractive correction, a large, population-based study found.

David S. Friedman, MD, MPH, PhD, and colleagues, working in conjunction with the Baltimore Pediatric Eye Disease Study, examined the age- and ethnicity-specific prevalence of decreased visual acuity among 1,504 children aged between 30 and 71 months. The study results were published in the October issue of Ophthalmology.

Each participant underwent comprehensive eye examination, and those who demonstrated decreased visual acuity in either eye were retested within 60 days of initial examination while wearing spectacle correction, if necessary. In addition, parents or guardians of all participants completed a questionnaire regarding health care, ocular history and development, mother's health during pregnancy and concerns about their child's ability to perform regular activities.

The investigators found that bilateral visual acuity was decreased at the initial test in seven of 577 white children (1.21%) and 13 of 725 black children (1.79%), although the difference was not statistically significant.

Uncorrected ametropia was identified as the cause of decreased visual acuity at initial examination in 10 of these 20 children, the authors noted.

The difference in the prevalence of decreased bilateral visual acuity was also similar after retesting with spectacle correction, with three of 586 (0.51%) white children and 12 of 739 (1.62%) black children showing decreased visual acuity.