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ReviewSurvey of ophthalmology · 2026

Xerophthalmia and ocular manifestations of vitamin A deficiency in children in high-income countries: A systematic review.

Catherine M H Ouyang, Leo Fan, Himal Kandel, Stephanie L Watson

OphthalmologyReview

Restrictive eating habits were the leading cause of vitamin A deficiency eye damage in children.

Xerophthalmia and ocular manifestations of vitamin A deficiency in children in high-income countries: A systematic review.

Catherine M H Ouyang … Stephanie L Watson

Survey of ophthalmology · 2026

Background

Xerophthalmia is a vision-threatening eye condition caused by vitamin A deficiency (vitamin A deficiency).

Methods

We performed a search for eligible articles on Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane, PubMed and Medline.

n = 61 cases

75%

Results

75%

restrictive eating, not other causes, most often led to the deficiency

n = 61 cases

More results

Cases of xerophthalmia in high-income countries (high-income countries) are vulnerable to misdiagnosis, causing delays in treatment and adverse visual outcomes.

Our study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines (CRD42024492023).

More results

Cases reporting on children under 18 years of age residing in high-income countries with ocular features of vitamin A deficiency were eligible for inclusion.

The search yielded 2474 results; 43 case reports and case series met the inclusion criteria consisting of a total of 61 cases (mean age 9.9 ± 4.2 years, range 3-17 years).

“

Conclusion

Further research is required to establish the prevalence of xerophthalmia in high-income countries.

Post

Xerophthalmia and ocular manifestations of vitamin A deficiency in children in high-income countries: A systematic review.

Restrictive eating habits were the leading cause of vitamin A deficiency eye damage in children.

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