Astigmatism occurring in association with pediatric eye disease

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Pediatric Optometry
• Clinical Research

Background:

• Astigmatism is a common refractive error that can affect visual acuity.
• Low vision in children encompasses a range of conditions causing visual image degradation.
• Understanding the relationship between specific diseases and astigmatism is crucial for visual rehabilitation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between various diseases causing visual image degradation and astigmatism in children.
• To compare astigmatism levels in children with low vision to those with normal vision.
• To identify specific disease categories and age-of-onset patterns associated with increased astigmatism.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of clinical data from 496 eyes of 256 children with low vision.
• Inclusion of refraction data from 79 children with normal vision as controls.
• Classification of children into 14 disease groups and 5 age-of-onset groups (0-13 years).

Main Results:

• Children with low vision demonstrated significantly higher mean astigmatism compared to normal vision controls.
• Astigmatism was most pronounced in children diagnosed with albinism, retinitis pigmentosa, and idiopathic nystagmus.
• Increased astigmatism prevalence was observed even in cases with late-onset low vision (up to 13 years).
• With-the-rule astigmatism was more frequent than oblique or against-the-rule astigmatism in the low vision cohort.

Conclusions:

• Children with low vision, particularly those with albinism, retinitis pigmentosa, or idiopathic nystagmus, have a higher prevalence and degree of astigmatism.
• The timing of low vision onset does not preclude increased astigmatism.
• Astigmatism patterns in pediatric low vision warrant further investigation for targeted interventions.