Refractive errors in children and young adults with Down’s syndrome

Ljubic, Antonela; Trajkovski, Vladimir

doi:10.1111/j.1755-3768.2009.01676.x

Cited by 13 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…This finding was consistent with previous studies with Asian children 20. Earlier studies suggested the prevalence of astigmatism increased with age 21.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Prevalence of ocular abnormalities in adults with Down syndrome in Hong Kong

Fong

Shum

et al. 2013

Br J Ophthalmol

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Background/aims This was a cross-sectional survey to find the prevalence of visual impairment and eye diseases among adults with Down syndrome (DS) in Hong Kong. Methods 91 DS patients over the age of 30 were recruited through the Hong Kong Down Syndrome Association. Each patient was provided with a complete ophthalmological assessment including best corrected visual acuity, refraction, slit lamp and fundus examination. Results In our sample, 56.6% had normal vision to mild vision impairment, 33.7% and 7.2% had moderate and severe vision impairment, respectively, and 2.4% were blind. The mean presenting distant LogMAR visual acuity was 0.66 (Snellen equivalent 20/90), and the best corrected LogMAR visual acuity was 0.48 (Snellen equivalent 20/60). Significant refractive errors were found in 86.3% of the eyes, with spherical equivalent corrections ranging from −23.25D to +3.00D. Myopia and astigmatism were prevalent and found in 59.3% and 72.7% of the eyes, respectively. Blepharitis and chalazion were found in 44% of the eyes, while corneal problems were present in 27.5%. There were low incidences of infective keratitis (0.5%), keratoconus (0.5%) and Brushfield spots (1.1%). Cataracts were found in 72.2% of the eyes; 26.1% were congenital and 44.9% were age-related. Fundal abnormalities were present in 49.5% of the eyes. Conclusions There is a high prevalence of vision impairment among Chinese DS adults. Uncorrected refractive errors, high myopia and cataracts are the main visually debilitating ophthalmological abnormalities. Vision may be improved through the simple use of glasses and early treatment of age-related cataracts.

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“…This finding was consistent with previous studies with Asian children 20. Earlier studies suggested the prevalence of astigmatism increased with age 21.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Prevalence of ocular abnormalities in adults with Down syndrome in Hong Kong

Fong

Shum

et al. 2013

Br J Ophthalmol

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“…Our finding on hyperopia (9.5%) is comparable to other studies with a reported range of between 12%26 and 15%,22 but lower than reports by other authors 19,29,30,40. Our finding of 28.6% prevalence of astigmatism is similar to the findings in other studies,19,20,22,25,26,29,38,42 although lower than findings reported by other authors 17,24,40. The high incidence of refractive errors among children with DS is believed to be caused by failure of emmetropisation 39,34.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Previous studies7–19 have established that refractive errors and strabismus are more prevalent among children and young adults with DS when compared with controls, as reported in other studies 17,23,24,38,39. For refractive errors, our finding of 38.1% prevalence of myopia (Table 1) is comparable to findings from other studies17,23,24,38,39 and lower than findings by other authors,17,24,39 although higher than findings reported by others 19,27,35,40. In children with DS, heart defects have been reported to be associated with myopia, although the mechanism is not clear 22,27,41.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…In children with DS, heart defects have been reported to be associated with myopia, although the mechanism is not clear 22,27,41. Our finding on hyperopia (9.5%) is comparable to other studies with a reported range of between 12%26 and 15%,22 but lower than reports by other authors 19,29,30,40. Our finding of 28.6% prevalence of astigmatism is similar to the findings in other studies,19,20,22,25,26,29,38,42 although lower than findings reported by other authors 17,24,40.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

“…Visual acuity was improved to a statistically significant degree in the DS group after refraction ( P = 0.001, χ 2 = 27.86). The prevalence of strabismus in the DS group in our study (9.5%) was higher than findings reported by Paudel et al,35 but lower than in other studies: 18.2%,19 27%,30 21.8%,31 26.7%,33 and 23% 40. As in the current study, esotropia has been reported to be more prevalent than exotropia in DS populations 16,19,25,29,37.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 59%

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Ophthalmic manifestations of children with Down syndrome in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Adio¹,

Wajuihian²

2012

OPTH

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AimThe aim of this study was to provide a profile of oculo-visual anomalies in children with Down syndrome (DS) in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.MethodsThis comparative study assessed the visual functions of 120 children (42 DS and 78 developmentally normal children). The visual functions evaluated and the techniques used were: visual acuity (Snellen illiterate chart and Lea picture charts), refraction (static retinoscopy with cyclopegia), ocular alignment (cover test), near point of convergence (pen and rule), and external examinations and fundoscopy.ResultsA total of 42 children with DS (22 males, 20 females, mean age 11.43 ± 6.041 years) and control group of 78 normal children (36 females, 42 males) with mean age 6.63 ± 1.98 years were examined. Of the 42 DS children, visual acuity was less than 6/18 in eight and one of the DS and control groups, respectively. Visual acuity could not be checked conventionally in eleven participants from the DS group due to poor response. The main findings were: DS compared to control group showed refractive errors of 76.2% (half of which was from myopia) vs 14.1% (only 10% due to myopia). There was a statistically significant difference in total refractive errors between the Down syndrome group and the control group (P = 0.001, χ2 = 18.29). Strabismus was 9.5% (75% esotropia) vs 0%, and there was a statistically significant difference (P = 0.001, χ2 = 5.01), nystagmus was 4.8% v 0%, conjunctivitis 19.05% vs 8.97%, and keratitis 7.14% vs 0%, which was statistically significant (P = 0.05, χ2 = 2.90).ConclusionRefractive errors were prevalent in a sample of children with DS in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, whereas the prevalence of ocular diseases was low when compared to age-matched control participants. This study highlights the need for ophthalmic care in children with DS. Routine eye care such as the use of spectacles when necessary is recommended for people with DS at all ages to improve their educational and social needs as well as overall quality of life.

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