Adolescent children who are Black, Mexican, low-income, or non-U.S. citizens are more likely to report poor subjective visual function and worse performance on visual acuity testing, according to a study published online Sept. 15 in JAMA Ophthalmology.
Jean Adomfeh, M.B.A., from Boston Children’s Hospital, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study of adolescents from the 2005 to 2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to describe visual health disparities. A total of 2,833 participants aged 12 to 18 years completed a visual function questionnaire and eye examination.
The researchers found that the odds of self-reported poor vision were increased among Black, Mexican American, and low-income adolescents (odds ratios, 2.85, 2.83, and 2.44, respectively). The odds of visual acuity worse than 20/40 in the better-seeing eye were increased for Black, Mexican American, and non-U.S. citizen adolescents (odds ratios, 2.13, 2.13, and 1.96, respectively).
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