Report outlines current national issues for children’s eye, vision health

A report from the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness found that amblyopia is the most common cause of vision loss in children.

The report, which broke down information by age and ethnic groups, also found that more than one-third of Hispanic/Latin and non-Hispanic black children have inadequately corrected refractive error.

The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health (NNCVEH) established a national expert advisory committee to assist with the report, according to a press release.

The researchers found refractive errors in infants and preschool-age children to be associated with developmental delay and clinically identified deficits in cognitive and visual-motor functions.

The overall economic cost of children’s vision disorders amounts to $10 billion yearly in the U.S. While African-American children have lower overall health care expenditures than Caucasian children, according to the report, they have twice the expenditures for eye- and vision-related emergency services.

“When we established the NCCVEH, we set out to identify and address the vision health needs of our children, as well as put together effective strategies and programs,” Hugh Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness, said in the release. “Our new report was created to provide an easy-to-use, evidence-based guide that helps us demonstrate the need for essential vision care for our kids and sound approaches to achieve a lifetime of healthy vision.”

Reference:

Prevent Blindness. Children's Vision and eye health: A snapshot of current national issues. Posted April 4, 2016. Accessed April 7, 2016.