EARLY EYE TESTING COULD MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE TO POORLY-SIGHTED CHILDREN

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EARLY EYE TESTING COULD MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE TO POORLY-SIGHTED CHILDREN
23 July 2004 - University of Bristol

Contrary to official recommendations, children with a common eye disorder called amblyopia, where one eye does not see properly despite wearing glasses, have a better chance of becoming cured if treatment starts before three years old, according to results from the Children of the 90s study at Bristol University.

Affected children would therefore be less likely to be barred from jobs where good sight in both eyes is necessary, such as pilots, some police forces and various engineering careers. They would also have less risk of major disability if they were to lose their good eye.

Research was carried out amongst families who are part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, popularly known as the Children of the 90s study. Two thousand children were either offered repeated eye tests between 8 months and 3 years old (before-3 group) or their sight was tested only when they reached 3 years old (the at-3 group).

Any children found to have amblyopia were referred to the local eye hospital for treatment. By the time these children were 7½ years of age, the before-3 group had far fewer children with persistent amblyopia than those who had only been tested at 3 years old for the condition (0.6% versus 1.8%).

Those whose eye problem had been picked up earlier than 3 years old, and had received treatment for it using eye patches early on in their lives, were four times more likely to be cured of their condition than those who had been diagnosed at 3.

Since a report in 1997 from the NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at the University of York (CRD Report 9) found that there was no evidence that early treatment worked better than treatment at school age, tests for pre-school children have been discontinued. This has caused widespread debate and disagreement between professionals and highlighted the need for more research. New recommendations have since been published suggesting tests at 4 to 5 years of age should be offered to all children, pending further evidence.

Dr Cathy Williams, the eye doctor who led the ALSPAC research, said: "Whether the state should offer vision testing for preschool children has been hotly debated since the 1997 report. We hope our findings will stimulate further investigation as to whether testing before 3 could be offered, which could well lead to better sight for children who need treatment for amblyopia."

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About: University of Bristol
The University College of Bristol opened in 1876, after six years of discussions and controversy, in a bid to bring university culture to the provinces. It was the first college in the country to admit men and women on an equal footing.

The University’s Research and Enterprise Development (RED) division was launched in 2000 to stimulate and support an entrepreneurial culture and encourage the growth of technology-based business.

2003 saw the completion of the Dorothy Hodgkin building, named after the University’s fifth Chancellor. The £18 million building is dedicated to research in neuroendocrinology. 2003 also saw the opening of the University’s £5 million Centre for Sport, Exercise and Health.

Work on a new, state-of-the-art engineering building is due to be completed in early 2004. The £20 million BLADE project (Bristol Laboratory for Advanced Dynamics Engineering) will bring together the Engineering Faculty’s six departments to establish Europe’s most advanced dynamics engineering research facilities.

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