One In 16 Australian Preschoolers May Suffer From Visual Impairment In One Eye

Reuters (5/28, Pittman) reported that, according to a study of more than 1,000 Australian children published in the journal Ophthalmology, about one in 16 children under the age of six may suffer from some sort of impaired vision in one eye. What’s more, nearly three percent of the children studied experienced impairment in both eyes. Researchers found that astigmatism was the common issue, but amblyopia and farsightedness were also fairly common. Notably, the United States Preventive Services Task Force suggests that children be screened between the ages of three and five for these very vision problems.