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King-Devick score in adolescent athletes gets faster, repeatable with age
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Researchers found that administering the King-Devick Test four times was feasible in a mass screening of high school and junior high athletes and that this strategy may better capture variability in any one individual, according to a study in Optometry and Vision Science.
The study focused on athletes age 12 years to 16 years, which is a period of “critical...late brain maturation,” the researchers wrote.
The cross-sectional study was completed on 619 school-aged athletes during pre-season sports physicals to determine the repeatability of the King-Devick Test(KD).
The mean fastest, error-minimized KD time was 43.9 seconds for all participants. With increasing participant age, median KD time was faster. Researchers found an inter-class correlation coefficient for all scores of 0.92. They also found that KD does not significantly correlate with reduced convergence, alignment or pupil function.
Age, race and school attended were associated with the best of the two baseline times.
Researchers determined that correlation among KD times was excellent.
The average improvement from baseline one to baseline two across all subjects was 1.6 seconds.
Researchers suggest that mass KD screening is an appropriate venue for assessment.
Among the cohort, those with a history of concussion had faster median times, although the finding was not statistically significant.
Visual acuity less than 20/30 in both eyes was the only vision factor associated with baseline KD.
Those who had reduced acuity in both eyes less than 20/30 had median times 4 seconds to 6 seconds slower compared to those with 20/30 or better distance acuity in at least one eye, according to researchers. – by Abigail Sutton
Disclosure: The researchers reported no relevant financial disclosures.
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