Stereoacuity and Related Factors in Healthy Preschool Children: The Nanjing Eye Study

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To assess the distribution of stereoacuity and related factors in healthy preschool children aged 48–60 months in eastern China.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was part of the Nanjing Eye Study, a longitudinal population-based cohort study. In 2016, preschool children without any neurological problems or ophthalmological abnormalities completed comprehensive eye examinations, including visual acuity, ocular alignment and movements, cycloplegic refraction, axial length, interpupillary distance, Titmus stereotest, anterior segment, and fundus examination. Multivariate linear regression model was used to determine the factors associated with stereoacuity score, and logistic regression model was used to determine the factors associated with subnormal stereoacuity (worse than 40 arc-seconds).

Results

Among 942 healthy preschool children (mean age = 55 months), the mean (SD) stereoacuity was 81 (2.3) arc-seconds with majority (76.5%) worse than 40 arc-seconds. In the multivariate analysis, older age (p = 0.001) and better presenting visual acuity (PVA) (p = 0.01) were independently associated with better stereoacuity score. Older age was also associated with low risk of subnormal stereoacuity (odds ratio = 0.37,p < 0.001 for age 57–60 months compared to age 48–51 months).

Conclusions

The maturation of stereopsis has not completed by the age of 48–60 months. Age and PVA should be taken into account when evaluating stereopsis in healthy preschoolers. The significant associations of age and PVA with stereoacuity provide valuable insights into possible intervention for healthy preschool children with poor stereoacuity.

KEYWORDS:

• Stereoacuity
• healthy preschool children
• month age
• presenting visual acuity

Acknowledgments

We thank the children, their parents or legal guardians, and all the members of the Maternal and Child Healthcare Hospital of Yuhuatai District, Nanjing, China, for their helpful advice and support.

Declaration of competing/conflicts of interest

Declaring that the manuscript has not been published previously, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Additional information

Funding

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81673198); the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK20161595); the Scientific Research Projects of Jiangsu Provincial Commission of Health and Family Planning (Grant No. H201507); Jiangsu Province’s Key Provincial Talents Program (Grant No. QNRC2016563); and the Maternal and Child Care Scientific Research Project of Wuxi Sanitary Bureau (Grant No. FYKY201408).