Sharma Poonam, Rath Soveeta, Tibrewal Shailja, Sabherwal Shalinder, Ganesh Suma, Siddique Zeeshan, Akhter Nasim
Department of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus and Neuro-ophthalmology, Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital, New Delhi, India.
Department of Community Ophthalmology and Public Health Research, Dr. Shroff's Charity Eye Hospital, New Delhi, India.
Indian J Ophthalmol. 2025 Aug 1;73(8):1174-1180. doi: 10.4103/IJO.IJO_1321_24. Epub 2025 Jul 28.
To study the prevalence and causes of low vision in children 5-18 years of age residing in an urban slum of northern India.
A prospective observational study between May 2021 and March 2022, where door-to-door (DTD) screening was performed in the chosen slum by trained personnel using PEEK acuity software. Children with visual acuity <6/9 in any eye were subsequently referred to the vision center, where cycloplegic refraction and complete ocular evaluation were done by an optometrist and pediatric ophthalmologist, and glasses were prescribed at the vision center. However, those needing further surgical or medical management were referred to the tertiary institute. After complete intervention, the prevalence of low vision was then calculated, and the most attributable cause of low vision was noted for each child. The complete data was divided into four sub-populations based on four gender-age combinations (male and female, younger and older). The prevalence of children with low vision for each sub-population was calculated separately, and then the results were pooled to estimate the prevalence for the entire population.
Using a DTD screening model, 106,524 children in the age group of 5-18 years were screened. Of these, 54,541 (51.2%) were males. Amongst 7084 children who were referred from DTD screening to the vision center, 5154 children had visual impairment. After all the required interventions were completed, 110 patients were finally considered to have low vision.
The prevalence of low vision in this urban slum was 0.142%. Refractive amblyopia was the major cause of low vision, followed by retinal causes. Identifying low vision early provides families and caregivers with access to appropriate resources, support services, and educational tools that can aid in the child's development.
研究居住在印度北部城市贫民窟的5至18岁儿童低视力的患病率及病因。
2021年5月至2022年3月进行了一项前瞻性观察研究，由经过培训的人员在选定的贫民窟使用PEEK视力软件进行逐户筛查。任何一只眼睛视力<6/9的儿童随后被转诊至视力中心，由验光师和小儿眼科医生进行睫状肌麻痹验光和全面的眼部评估，并在视力中心开具眼镜处方。然而，那些需要进一步手术或药物治疗的患者则被转诊至三级医疗机构。在完成全部干预措施后，计算低视力的患病率，并记录每个儿童低视力最主要的病因。完整数据根据四种性别-年龄组合（男性和女性、年龄较小和较大）分为四个亚组。分别计算每个亚组中低视力儿童的患病率，然后汇总结果以估计整个人群的患病率。
采用逐户筛查模式，对106,524名5至18岁儿童进行了筛查。其中，54,541名（51.2%）为男性。在从逐户筛查转诊至视力中心的7084名儿童中，5154名儿童有视力障碍。在完成所有必要干预措施后，最终认定110名患者患有低视力。
该城市贫民窟的低视力患病率为0.142%。屈光性弱视是低视力的主要原因，其次是视网膜病因。早期识别低视力可为家庭和照顾者提供获取适当资源、支持服务和教育工具的途径，这些有助于儿童的发育。
