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Bifocals and Down's syndrome: correction or treatment?
Mohammad Al-Bagdady1, Ruth E Stewart, Patrick Watts
1School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Maindy Road, Cardiff, UK. Al-BagdadyM@cardiff.ac.uk
Summary
Bifocals effectively improve reduced accommodation in children with Down
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatrics
- Genetics
Background:
- Reduced accommodation affects approximately 75% of children with Down's syndrome (DS).
- Bifocals are commonly prescribed for this condition, with clinical observations suggesting potential for accommodative improvement.
- The study investigates bifocals as a therapeutic intervention for diminished accommodative ability in DS.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of bifocals in treating reduced accommodation in children with Down's syndrome.
- To assess the potential for bifocal wear to improve accommodative function.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective review of clinical records for 40 children with DS prescribed bifocals.
- Accommodation was measured before bifocal wear, during wear, and after discontinuation.
- Factors analyzed included age at prescription, refractive error, visual acuity, and strabismus.
Main Results:
- Accommodative ability improved in 65% of children after bifocal use.
- 14 children achieved accurate accommodation without bifocals post-treatment.
- Improvement was sustained after returning to single vision lenses; no significant impact from strabismus, refractive error, visual acuity, or gender was found.
Conclusions:
- Bifocals serve as an effective correction and treatment for reduced accommodation in children with DS.
- A 65% success rate in improving accommodation was observed.
- Bifocal therapy can be temporary, potentially resolving the accommodative deficit in at least one-third of children.
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