Impact of vision impairment on children’s quality of life and mental health
Author Block: Sheetal Pundir1, Dongfeng Li 2, Nathan Congdon 2. 1McGill University Health Centre, 2Queen's University.
Author Disclosures: S. Pundir: None. D. Li: None. N. Congdon: None.
Abstract Body:
Purpose: In this systematic review, we have summarized the existing evidence to study the impact of vision impairment, such as refractory errors and strabismus, on the quality of life and mental health of children. Understanding and quantifying these associations would help early detection and management of mental health symptoms in children with vision impairment.
Study Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Methods: We undertook a comprehensive literature search of MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PsycINFO, and the Chinese databases Wang Fang and CNKI. Two independent reviewers assessed the titles, abstract and results for study eligibility and potential inclusion. A protocol was registered and published on The International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews. We included cross-sectional studies, case-control studies, longitudinal studies, and randomized controlled trials. Reviews, commentary articles, dissertations, abstracts, editorials conference presentations and qualitative studies were excluded.
Results: 183 studies were reviewed and 91 matched the criteria. Two were randomized trial and remaining were observational studies. Full text screening was then conducted on relevant articles. Children with vision impairment such as strabismus and refractive errors scored lower on quality of life, self-perception and higher scores on distress symptoms compared to normal sighted children.
Conclusions: There is a significant negative psychosocial and emotional impact from childhood vision impairment. Childhood refractory errors and strabismus is associated with lower self-esteem and self-perception. This review provides evidence that timely intervention in children with strabismus can improve their quality of life and self-perception.
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