Abstract
Background: Prematurity has been associated with reduced visual acuity (VA), especially in those with very low birth weight (VLBW). In small for gestational age (SGA) term children, no certain relationship between birth weight (bw) and VA has been found. The aim of this study was to compare the VA of a cohort of two groups of low bw adolescents, with that of a control group with normal bw.
Methods: The distance and near VA of 50 VLBW (mean bw 1129 g), 63 SGA (mean bw 2886g) and 79 control adolescents born at term (mean bw 3682 g) was measured at age 14 in a population based study. Both the adolescents own correction and optimal correction was used and VA was recorded for each eye and binocularly.
Results: With optimal correction, only one (2%) adolescent in the VLBW group had distance visual acuity less than 0,5 compared with no children in SGA and controls (p= 0,25). Mean distance binocular VA with optimal correction was within normal limits for all groups ( 1,20 for VLBW, 1,27 for SGA and 1,30 for controls), however lower for VLBW vs controls (p<0,01). All distance measurements ( monocularly, binocularly, own correction, best correction) showed similar slight differences. Mean binocular near VA was 0,94 in the VLBWgroup, 1,02 for SGA and 1,02 for controls (p=0,15). However mean VA for near, right and left eye measured separately, was slightly lower for VLBW compared to controls (p<0,05)
Conclusion: In this cohort, being born VLBW or SGA did not increase the risk of having distance visual acuity below 0,5. Only one of the 50 VLBW had a distance VA less than 0,5 ( 0,3). Mean distance and near VA was statistically lower in VLBW compared to controls, however the differences were small and the mean VA was good in all groups. The SGA group did not perform significantly different from the controls.
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Lindqvist, S., Indredavik, M., Skranes, J. et al. 155 Visual Acuity is Similar in Very Low Birth Weight Adolescents Compared to Small For Gestational Age and Normal Birth Wight Adolescents in A Norwegian Cohort. Pediatr Res 56, 490 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-200409000-00178
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-200409000-00178