Study Finds Link Between ADHD and Vision Problems

Friday, March 11 2016 | 00 h 00 min | Vision Science

A survey of 75,000 children, conducted by the University of Alabama at Birmingham and published in Optometry and Vision Science, shows that children with vision impairment uncorrectable through glasses or contacts are at nearly double the risk of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

“Uncorrectable” vision problems, including colour blindness, lazy eye, and other impairments, were associated with a 15.6% risk of ADHD, compared with 8.3% for normal vision, though the researchers caution that the results of the study do not mean that vision problems cause ADHD.

“Because we do not know if the relationship is causal, we have no recommendations for prevention,” Dawn DeCarlo, O.D., director of the UAB Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation and lead investigator of the study, said. “I think it is more important that parents realize that children with vision problems may also have attention problems and that both require professional diagnosis and treatment.”

Further information: https://www.uab.edu/news/innovation/item/7038-new-study-shows-link-between-adhd-and-vision-impairment-in-children