title: Ocular defects in children and adolescents with severe mental deficiency.
abstract: To assess the need for eye care in children and adolescents with severe mental deficiency, a cross-sectional study of the prevalence and causes of ocular defects amongst these individuals was conducted. Two hundred and sixty residents in a mental handicap unit were examined from January 1992 to June 1993. It was found that there was an unusually high prevalence of severe visual impairment (25%), refractive errors (24%), squint (8%) and a number of organic ocular diseases (8%). All the patients studied were non-verbal and 18% of them were deaf. Only 23 patients could walk. The results emphasize the need for establishing an efficient system to provide regular ophthalmic care for children with severe mental deficiency.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kwok
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Gandhi
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Lam
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001766:Blindness / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005124:Eye Abnormalities / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007326:Institutionalization; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D010348:Patient Care Team; D013577:Syndrome; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D015351:Vision Screening