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Apgar score and reduced vision in children aged 3 to 6 years
Chen-Wei Pan1, Deng-Juan Qian1, Hui Zhu2
1Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Preventive and Translational Medicine for Geriatric Diseases, School of Public Health, Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
Insights
Children with a low 5-minute Apgar score at birth have an increased risk of reduced vision. This study found that scores below 7 were linked to vision problems in preschool-aged children.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatrics
- Neonatal Health
Background:
- Reduced vision in early childhood can impact development.
- The 5-minute Apgar score is a key indicator of a newborn's condition.
- Understanding early life factors associated with vision impairment is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between the 5-minute Apgar score and reduced vision in children aged 3 to 6 years.
- To determine if low Apgar scores predict later vision problems.
Main Methods:
- A school-based eye survey included 5834 preschool children (3-6 years).
- Reduced vision was defined as unaided distance visual acuity of 6/12 or worse.
- 5-minute Apgar scores were obtained from medical records.
Main Results:
- The prevalence of reduced vision was 6.63%.
- A low 5-minute Apgar score (less than 7) was significantly associated with reduced vision (OR=1.66).
- Myopia and amblyopia were also linked to Apgar scores below 7.
Conclusions:
- Children with 5-minute Apgar scores below 7 are more likely to experience reduced vision.
- Early Apgar scores may serve as an indicator for potential vision issues later in childhood.
- This highlights the importance of neonatal assessment for long-term health outcomes.
Purpose:
We aimed to examine the association between the 5-min Apgar score and reduced vision in children 3 to 6 years of age.
Methods:
A total of 5834 preschool children aged 3 to 6 years participated in this school-based eye survey. Reduced vision was defined as unaided distance vision of 6/12 or worse in the better-seeing eye. The 5-min Apgar scores of the participants were retrieved from medical records.
Results:
The overall prevalence of reduced vision in this population was 6.63 % (95 % confidence interval [CI] 5.99-7.27). In multivariate analysis, the presence of reduced vision was associated with a low 5-min Apgar score at birth (<7 vs. 7-10; odds ratio [OR] = 1.66, 95 % CI 1.48-3.05) after adjusting for age, gender, parental history of myopia, maternal age, gestational age, and birth weight. In addition, both myopia and amblyopia were associated with Apgar scores of less than 7 in multivariate analyses.
Conclusions:
Children with 5-min Apgar scores of less than 7 were more likely to have reduced vision at the age of 3 to 6 years.
