Causes of low vision in children: A systematic review

To identify the ocular pathologies that are reported as causes of low vision in children. The systematic search was carried out in Medline (PubMed), Embase and Lilacs. Observational studies with populations between 0−18 years of age, reporting visual acuity data between 20/60–20/400 and reporting the frequency of ocular pathologies were selected. Studies in which the diagnosis of the condition had not been verified by a professional, or which covered only cases of blindness, uncorrected refractive errors, or amblyopia, were excluded. The methodological quality of the articles was evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute instrument for prevalence studies. 27 studies conducted in Asia (13 publications), Africa (6 studies), Oceania (4 studies), Europe and South America (2 studies each) were included. The most reported causes of low vision were: cataract, with prevalence between 0.8% and 27.2%; albinism with from 1.1% to 47%; nystagmus, with prevalence between 1.3% and 22%; retinal dystrophies between 3.5% and 50%; retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) with prevalence between 1.1% and 65.8%, optic atrophy between 0.2% and 17.6%, and glaucoma from 2.4% to 18.1%. Cataract, albinism and nystagmus are the ocular pathologies most mentioned by studies as a cause of low vision in children, as well as retinal diseases such as ROP and optic nerve diseases such as atrophy. However, there are numerous eye conditions that can result in low vision in the pediatric population. Identificar las enfermedades oculares que se reportan como causas de la baja visión en los niños. La búsqueda sistemática se realizó en Medline (PubMed), Embase y Lilacs. Se seleccionaron estudios observacionales con poblaciones entre 0−18 años de edad, que reportaran datos de agudeza visual entre 20/60−20/400, y que informaran sobre la frecuencia de enfermedades oculares. Se excluyeron los estudios en los que el diagnóstico de la condición no hubiera sido verificado por un profesional, o que abarcaran únicamente casos de ceguera, defectos refractivos no corregidos o ambliopía. La calidad metodológica de los artículos se evaluó mediante el instrumento del Instituto Joanna Briggs para estudios de prevalencia. Fueron incluidos 27 estudios realizados en Asia (13 publicaciones), África (6 estudios), Oceanía (4 estudios) y Europa y Sudamérica (2 estudios cada uno). Las causas de la baja visión más reportadas fueron: la catarata, con prevalencias comprendidas entre el 0,8 y el 27,2%; el albinismo desde el 1,1