Cross border lazy eye disparity

Children in the Republic of Ireland are four times more likely to suffer from amblyopia beyond the normal treatment period compared to children in Northern Ireland, a new study from Ulster University and Technological University Dublin has shown.

Researchers said the data highlighted the contrast in the public health and eye systems in the two countries because the two populations are broadly similar in terms of their genetic, demographic and ocular profiles.

One of the lead authors, Kathryn Saunders, professor of optometry at Ulster University, said: ‘School-entry vision screening is not as comprehensive in the Republic and, even if reduced vision is detected in children, long waiting times for treatment, a lack of free primary eye care and the absence of financial help for glasses result in long-term negative effects on children’s sight.’