Prevalence of Ocular Disorders in Children with Intellectual Disability in Special Schools of Hamadan, Iran, 2017-2018

Objective: According to global statistics, in every society, more than 10% of children are born with different characteristics from those of their peers, meaning they are mentally different from their peers. Children with intellectual disabilities are at a greater risk of refractive errors and other ocular problems. Regarding this, the present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of refractive errors and ocular findings in children with intellectual disabilities studying at the special schools of Hamadan, Iran, within 2017-18. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 90 students with intellectual disabilities studying at the exceptional schools of Hamadan in 2017-18. The data was collected using a checklist recording such data as demographic information, level of education, and eye examination results. Visual acuity, refraction, slit-lamp examination, and fundoscopy were performed by an optometrist and an ophthalmologist. Data analysis was performed in SPSS software (version 16.0; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL) at a significance level of <0.05. Results: The mean age of the students was 9.4±2.7 years (age range: 6-18 years). Based on the data, 56 (62.2%) cases were female. With regard to the ocular findings, 78 (86.7%), 16 (17.8%), and 12 (13.3%) students had refractive errors, amblyopia, and strabismus, respectively. The most common refractive error in students was mixed astigmatism (n=66, 73.3%), followed by hypermetropia (n=35, 38.9%). Refractive errors and ocular diseases had a higher prevalence in female students under the age of 11 years and preschoolers; however, this difference was not statistically significant. Out of 78 children with refractive errors, 18 (23.1%) cases had an ocular disease (P=0.063).  Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, the prevalence of refractive errors and eye diseases was higher in children with an intellectual disability than in the general population. Furthermore, the girls and children with a younger age were found to be at a greater risk of ocular disorders. Consequently, the screening or periodic examination of these children is a measure of vital importance.

Keywords:

Intellectual disability , Refractive errors , Ocular disorders , Visual impairment