Children born prematurely are more likely to have eye problems

A new study has confirmed that children born prematurely are more likely to have eye problems.

Swedish research has concluded that by the age of 10 children who were born prematurely are more likely to have visual problems than children who were born at full term.

Medical director Eva K Larsson and colleagues at the Uppsala University Hospital compared the visual acuity for distance and near vision of 10-year-old children born either prematurely or full term in Stockholm from 1988-1990. Their findings have been published in the latest Archives of Ophthalmology.

Of the 216 prematurely-born children, 131 had no retinopathy of prematurity at birth. Of the remaining pre-term children with mild to severe retinopathy of prematurity, 25 were treated with cryotherapy.

Eye and neurological problems are common in premature infants, but little is known about the effects of prematurity on visual acuity.