To Find Out Prevalence of Various Ocular Manifestations and to Assess the Possible Aetiological Factors Including Psycho-Social and Hereditary Factors in Mentally Retarded Children
Psycho-Social and Hereditary Factors in Mentally Retarded Children
Abstract
Background: Children with disabilities are at a higher risk of visual impairment as compared to normal population. The present study was conducted to find out the prevalence of various ocular manifestations and to assess the possible aetiological factors including psycho-social and hereditary factors. Subjects and Methods: The present study was undertaken in the department of ophthalomology and paediatrics, S.N. Medical College, Agra. Two hundred and forty mentally retarded children between the ages of 3 months to 15 years of either sex were scrutinized to find out the prevalence of ocular manifestations in cases of mental retardation. A complete case history was taken. Results: In the present study, in 50% cases, the cause of mental retardation could not be identified clinically. Causes of mental retardation which could be identified in our study were developmental cranial anomalies -12.5%, downs syndrome (7.5%), post inflectional (6.7%), congenital cerebral palsy (5.8%) , epilepsy (3.3%), endocrine disorders, others 11.6%. Out of these 66.7% were males and 33.3% cases were females. Ocular examination of the mentally retarded children revealed that 60% cases were having one or other form of ocular abnormalities. Strabismus (30.5%) was the commonest ocular anomaly followed by refractive errors (27.8%). Other ocular manifestations in order of frequency were congenital cataract (12.5%), optic nerve disorders (7.5%), lid and orbital abnormalities (5.5%), nystagmus (2.7%) and retinal disorders (1.4%). Colour vision defects were found to be present in 13.2% mentally retarded children. Conclusion: The children with disabilities should undergo annual ophthalmic evaluation. We concluded from our study that visual function of the children should be assessed as soon as the child is admitted to the school. Earlier assessment and correction of the visual problems will have greater chance of achieving potential and will prevent unnecessary visual impairment.