Epidemiology Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Epidemiology, including details on twin studies, statistics, environmental and genetic factors.

The epidemiology of early childhood hyperopia.

Tarczy-Hornoch K

Department of Ophthalmology, University of Southern California/Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA. ktarczyhornoch@chla.usc.edu

Hyperopia is present in a small proportion of children aged between 6 and 12 months, with ethnicity likely affecting prevalence, and higher prevalences in certain subgroups, especially those with a family history of hyperopia or accommodative esotropia. Around a fifth of children who are hyperopic in infancy go on to develop strabismus, while an unknown proportion develop bilateral ametropic amblyopia; persistent hyperopia appears to be a harbinger of future pathology. Early prophylactic spectacle correction of hyperopia has failed to prevent strabismus in three of four studies, but showed reduced incidence of strabismus in one study, and yielded improved visual acuity outcomes in two studies by one investigator. Currently our ability to detect or measure refractive error with automated instruments easily adaptable to a screening setting has outpaced our knowledge of how best to identify the subset of hyperopes who are really at risk, and how to manage isolated early hyperopia once it has been identified.

Published 14 February 2007 in Optom Vis Sci, 84(2): 115-23.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Epidemiology Research Today. All Rights Reserved.