Childhood vision impairment
- Correspondence to: J Keeffe Centre for Eye Research Australia, Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Melbourne, Australia; jillekunimelb.edu.au
Childhood blindness is ranked second only to cataract on the global burden of eye disease
While the number of children with vision loss and blindness is relatively low in comparison with the number of older people with vision loss, the impact as measured in disability adjusted life years (DALY) ranks childhood blindness second only to cataract on the global burden of eye disease and one of the five priority areas of the World Health Organization’s “Vision 2020—the right to sight” programme.1 Vision impairment, both low vision and blindness, compromises quality of life. Impaired vision from birth or in early childhood can have a profound impact on an infant’s or child’s development, restricting participation in social, physical and educational and, later, employment opportunities.
There is wide regional variation in the causes of vision loss and blindness. In both developed and developing countries, the majority of vision loss is either preventable or treatable.1 Cataract, retinal diseases, and congenital abnormalities are found in all regions. In developing or low income countries where much of the vision loss is related either to infection or nutrition, corneal scarring is the most common cause of blindness. The prevention of these conditions is largely at primary care level. In high and middle income countries where retinopathy of prematurity and lesions of the central nervous system are common, specialist paediatric ophthalmology services are needed for the prevention and particularly the management of vision loss in children.
The recent study of the incidence and causes of …
