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Incidence of registered visual impairment in the Nordic child population
T Rosenberg1, T Flage, E Hansen
1National Eye Clinic for the Visually Impaired, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Insights
This study found an 8/100,000 incidence of childhood visual impairment in Nordic countries. Brain disorders were the leading cause, with most cases identified before age three.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
Background:
- Childhood visual impairment presents a significant public health challenge.
- Understanding incidence and etiology is crucial for early intervention and prevention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the incidence of visual impairment in children (0-17 years) across five Nordic countries in 1993.
- To analyze demographic, diagnostic, and etiological factors associated with childhood visual impairment.
Main Methods:
- A collaborative, population-based prospective register study.
- Inclusion of data on nationality, age, sex, diagnoses, etiology, impairment degree, and additional impairments.
- Utilized classification routines from a prior prevalence study.
Main Results:
- The overall incidence was 8/100,000 children, with variations between countries (5.7-11.1/100,000).
- Brain disorders accounted for approximately 45% of cases, primarily cerebral amblyopia and secondary optic atrophy.
- Fifty percent of affected children were identified before age three; 64% of etiologies were prenatal.
- Retinopathy of prematurity decreased in relative frequency compared to a previous prevalence study.
- Two-thirds of children had additional impairments, correlating with more severe visual loss.
Conclusions:
- Childhood visual impairment incidence in the Nordic region is relatively low but requires ongoing monitoring.
- Brain disorders are the predominant cause, emphasizing the need for neurological assessments in visually impaired children.
- Early identification, particularly before age three, is critical, and prenatal factors significantly contribute to etiology.
Abstract:
A collaborative, population based, prospective register study on the incidence of visual impairment in children during the year 1993 was carried out in five Nordic countries with a total population of 17 million inhabitants. The child population was 3.8 million individuals aged 0-17 years. The following variables were taken into account: nationality, age, sex, diagnoses, aetiology, degree of visual impairment, and additional impairments. Classification routines from an earlier prevalence study were used. The present study included 304 children corresponding to an incidence of notification of 8/100,000 children, varying from 5.7 to 11.1 in the five countries. Fifty per cent of the visually impaired children were reported before they were 3 years of age. In approximately 45% of the children, visual impairment was due to various brain disorders, with cerebral amblyopia and secondary optic atrophy as the two leading causes. The relative impact of retinopathy of prematurity had decreased from the third most frequent cause (10%) in the prevalence study to seventh place (4%) in the incidence study. Two thirds of the children had additional impairments and these children also suffered from the most severe visual impairments. Among aetiological factors the majority (64%) were prenatal. The overall male:female ratio of 1.4:1 was identical to the sex ratio of the prevalence study.