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New research · Ophthalmology
Eye (London, England) · 23h
Cohort studyEye (London, England) · 2026

Trends in childhood visual impairment. Insights from a 10-year retrospective study at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

Salma Babiker, Derek McPhee, Rutika Dodeja, Jose Gonzalez-Martin
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OphthalmologyCohort study

Childhood vision-impairment registrations rose 50% over the decade studied.

Trends in childhood visual impairment. Insights from a 10-year retrospective study at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.

Salma Babiker … Jose Gonzalez-Martin
Eye (London, England) · 2026
Purpose

To describe trends in childhood certificate of visual impairment (certificate of visual impairment) registrations over a 10-year period (2010-2019) at Alder Hey Eye Clinic, a tertiary centre serving Merseyside and parts of Wales, and to compare findings with a previously published cohort (1997-2006).

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed records of children registered as sight impaired (sight impaired) or severely sight impaired (severely sight impaired) between 2010 and 2019, extracting demographic and clinical data.

n = 384 children
Results

Newly registered visually impaired children rose from 256 to 384, driven mainly by milder cases.

48%
Before
62.8%
After
More results

The median age at registration was 73.9 months (IQR 13-106), comparable to the earlier cohort (76 months, range 1-192).

Certification as sight impaired increased from 48% to 62.8% (P < 0.05).

The new cohort showed wide variation in visual acuity (visual acuity) (median 1.0 logMAR, IQR 0.9-3.4).

More results

52% had visual acuity of 1.0 logMAR or worse, whereas 15% had visual acuity ≤ 0.4 logMAR but qualified due to visual field or higher-order deficits.

“
Conclusion

The number of registered children increased, particularly among those with milder impairment. Cerebral visual impairment and optic atrophy were leading causes of registration between 2010 and 2019, mirroring national trends.

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