Ocular abnormalities among patients with Down syndrome

Introduction Ocular abnormalities among down syndrome (DS) patients are a sensitive issue since the DS patients is a minor group in the general population. Objectives This study determined the prevalence of visual acuity, refractive errors, and ocular diseases among the DS patients; analyzed the association between refractive errors and (age, gender, visual acuity, and type of squint); and compared the results with similar studies in other countries. Methods Clinical examination of the eye included visual assessment with cyloplegic refraction and ocular motility. The visual acuity was evaluated according to the patient's intelligence and responsiveness. The sample size was 50 children. All members of the Palestinian Association of DS patients were subject to ocular investigation after giving consent form from the parents. Results Results showed that 27 boys and 23 girls in the age range of 10-16 years were suffering from DS. The majority of visual acuity was 6/60 (22%) and minority was 6/6 (8%). Astigmatism (40%) was the highest ocular abnormality followed by hyperopia (36%), whereas the low prevalence was with myopia (14%) among both genders. Conclusion The study revealed the association between age and hyperopia and astigmatism. These results suggest the influence of environmental quality. This study recommends investigating the influence of environmental quality in the ocular abnormalities in DS and general population.