The Impact of Hyperopia on Academic Performance Among Children: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the impact of uncorrected hyperopia and hyperopic spectacle correction on children's academic performance. Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis Methods: We searched 9 electronic databases from inception to July 26, 2021, for studies assessing associations between hyperopia and academic performance. There were no restrictions on language, publication date, or geographic location. A quality checklist was applied. Random-effects models estimated pooled effect size as a standardized mean difference (SMD) in 4 outcome domains: cognitive skills, educational performance, reading skills, and reading speed. (PROSPERO registration: CRD-42021268972). Results: Twenty-five studies (21 observational and 4 interventional) out of 3415 met the inclusion criteria. No full-scale randomized trials were identified. Meta-analyses of the 5 studies revealed a small but significant adverse effect on educational performance in uncorrected hyperopic compared to emmetropic children {SMD À0.18 [95% confidence interval (CI), À0.27 to À0.09]; P < 0.001, 4 studies} and a moderate negative effect on reading skills in uncorrected hyperopic compared to emmetropic children [SMD À0.46 (95% CI, À0.90 to À0.03); P ¼ 0.036, 3 studies]. Reading skills were significantly worse in hyperopic than myopic children [SMD À0.29 (95% CI, À0.43 to À0.15); P < 0.001, 1 study]. Qualitative analysis on 10 (52.6%) of 19 studies excluded from metaanalysis found a significant (P < 0.05) association between uncorrected hyperopia and impaired academic performance. Two interventional studies found hyperopic spectacle correction significantly improved reading speed (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Evidence indicates that uncorrected hyperopia is associated with poor academic performance. Given the limitations of current methodologies, further research is needed to evaluate the impact on academic performance of providing hyperopic correction.

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Refractive Errors and Effective Spectacle Coverage in Emiratis and Non-Emiratis Aged 40 Years or Older: the Dubai Eye Health Survey

“…Consistent with previous studies,22–26 prevalence of hypermetropia increased with aging. This could be explained by the hyperopic shift caused by decreased lens refractive power, flattened corneal curvature as well as displacements of the lens with age.…”

“…Considering the unique population structure of Dubai where only 15% of the population are nationals, there were still many deficiencies in the delivery of required eye care services in the Emirati community. Consistent with previous studies, [22][23][24][25][26] prevalence of hypermetropia increased with aging. This could be explained by the hyperopic shift caused by decreased lens refractive power, flattened corneal curvature as well as displacements of the lens with age.…”

Inclusivity in stereoscopic XR: Human vision first

“…Presbyopia (the reduced ability to focus at near because of age) affects everyone from around the age of 45 years. Uncorrected refractive errors have been negatively correlated with an individual's educational achievement (Mavi et al, 2022), and general quality of life (Frick et al, 2015;Chua & Foster, 2019). Uncorrected refractive errors are considered a major cause of avoidable vision impairment, affecting more than 30% of the population (Flaxman et al, 2017;Foreman et al, 2017;Ye et al, 2018).…”

Ocular Health and National Data Standards: A Case for Including Visual Acuity in the United States Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI)

“…Decreased vision in children can also sometimes be a sign of early onset myopia, which is a risk factor for high or pathologic myopia as an adult, causing irreversible vision loss. Correcting refractive error in childhood can optimize academic performance, 16 , 17 , 18 and documentation of decreased visual acuity can also enable children to receive additional educational and social support services. Therefore, the impact of monitoring visual acuity measurement in children is broad, reaching far beyond ophthalmology and optometry alone.…”