Xinxing Guo1, Min Fu2, Juan Lü2, Qixia Chen2, Yangfa Zeng1, Xiaohu Ding1, Ian G Morgan3, Mingguang He4. 1. State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. 2. Department of Ophthalmology, Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital, Southern Medical University, Shenzhen, China. 3. Research School of Biological Science, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 4. State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To document the distribution of uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) in a defined population of Chinese preschoolers and to discuss its implications for vision referral. METHODS: Preschoolers aged 3 to 6 years old were recruited from kindergartens in Shenzen. Uncorrected visual acuity was estimated by using Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study Tumbling E charts, followed by cycloplegic refraction and ocular examination. The reference population was defined as children without clinically significant ocular abnormalities, with spherical equivalent refraction greater than -0.50 to less than +2.00 diopters (D), astigmatism less than 0.75 D, and anisometropia less than 2.00 D. The age-specific UCVA cutoffs were defined by the line where the single-sided 95th percentile of the reference population fell. RESULTS: A total of 483 of the 1255 children enrolled were considered the reference population. The monocular UCVA cutoff fell on the line of 20/63 at age 3, 20/50 at age 4, and 20/40 at ages 5 and 6. Using no better than these lines as criteria generated referral rates of 9.4% to 27.8% in the general population at different ages, and detected 83.3% and more than 90.0% of those with myopia and amblyopia, respectively. Using uncorrected interocular difference of two or more lines referred 3.6% to 4.3% of the population but identified only approximately 20.0% of those with amblyopia. CONCLUSIONS: Visual acuity is still developing in preschoolers even at age 6. Most children with myopia and amblyopia can be identified with age-specific, monocular UCVA cutoffs in vision screening using Tumbling E charts, with tolerable false-positive rates. Further studies are needed to define the age at which children without significant refractive errors reach 20/20 UCVA. Copyright 2015 The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.
PURPOSE: To document the distribution of uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) in a defined population of Chinese preschoolers and to discuss its implications for vision referral. METHODS: Preschoolers aged 3 to 6 years old were recruited from kindergartens in Shenzen. Uncorrected visual acuity was estimated by using Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study Tumbling E charts, followed by cycloplegic refraction and ocular examination. The reference population was defined as children without clinically significant ocular abnormalities, with spherical equivalent refraction greater than -0.50 to less than +2.00 diopters (D), astigmatism less than 0.75 D, and anisometropia less than 2.00 D. The age-specific UCVA cutoffs were defined by the line where the single-sided 95th percentile of the reference population fell. RESULTS: A total of 483 of the 1255 children enrolled were considered the reference population. The monocular UCVA cutoff fell on the line of 20/63 at age 3, 20/50 at age 4, and 20/40 at ages 5 and 6. Using no better than these lines as criteria generated referral rates of 9.4% to 27.8% in the general population at different ages, and detected 83.3% and more than 90.0% of those with myopia and amblyopia, respectively. Using uncorrected interocular difference of two or more lines referred 3.6% to 4.3% of the population but identified only approximately 20.0% of those with amblyopia. CONCLUSIONS: Visual acuity is still developing in preschoolers even at age 6. Most children with myopia and amblyopia can be identified with age-specific, monocular UCVA cutoffs in vision screening using Tumbling E charts, with tolerable false-positive rates. Further studies are needed to define the age at which children without significant refractive errors reach 20/20 UCVA. Copyright 2015 The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.
Authors: Elena Pinero-Pinto; Verónica Pérez-Cabezas; Concepción De-Hita-Cantalejo; Carmen Ruiz-Molinero; Estanislao Gutiérrez-Sánchez; José-Jesús Jiménez-Rejano; José-María Sánchez-González; María Carmen Sánchez-González Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2020-05-20 Impact factor: 3.390