Developmental delay and poverty in the strabismus clinic

Strabismus and poverty are more common among developmentally delayed children. Poverty is difficult to define, but qualification for Medicaid benefits has been used as an indicator in the past.

There was a retrospective review of 95 patients with strabismus younger than 7 years who were seen in the Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology at the Albany Medical Center for a 12-month period and were reviewed for the presence or absence of developmental delay. These patients were selected from 2 groups: one with Medicaid coverage and one without.

Developmental delays were noted in 13 patients without Medicaid (27.0%) and in 26 patients with Medicaid (55.3%) (P = .0096). Patients with Medicaid were less likely to name Allen pictures by age 3 years (P = .0003).

Poverty is more commonly associated with delays in patients with strabismus, and this should alert ophthalmologists who work with Medicaid patients to seek to identify the presence of developmental delay in managing the care of these patients.