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Vitamin A deficiency, congenital cataracts, retinopathy of prematurity, Leber congenital amaurosis, and physical injuries are the main causes of childhood blindness, affecting over 1.4 million children worldwide. Vitamin A deficiency is responsible for nearly 70% of cases, while congenital cataracts account for at least 16%. ROP occurs when a baby is born before 32 weeks or weighing less than 3.3 pounds, and LCA is a rare genetic disorder. Physical injuries can also cause blindness in children. Proper nutrition and early neonatal vision screenings can help prevent and treat childhood blindness.
Blindness in children is mainly caused by vitamin A deficiency, congenital cataracts and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Leber congenital amaurosis, a rare genetic disorder, also causes blindness in children. These health problems, along with physical injuries, cause the majority of vision problems in young people, a problem affecting more than 1.4 million children worldwide.
Vitamin A deficiency accounts for nearly 70% of cases of blindness in children. Most often in developing countries, this type of malnutrition can cause night blindness and full-fledged blindness. Vitamin A is needed by the retina of the eye to absorb light. The absorption of light through the retina is essential for the development and maintenance of vision.
Congenital cataracts cause at least 16% of childhood blindness. Cataracts present at birth can cause low vision or vision loss and are usually caused by an infection during pregnancy, Alport syndrome, and Fabry disease. A cataract, or clouding of the eye’s lens, is treatable if caught early by removing the cataract and, in severe cases, inserting an artificial intraocular lens. This routine surgery often resolves the disorder, although some children remain at least partially blind.
Before the 32nd week of gestation, the blood vessels in the retina are not fully formed. These vessels typically grow from the back of the eye to the front, starting at 16 weeks of gestation and ending just before 40 weeks, which is when a fetus is considered full-term. When a baby is born before 32 weeks or weighing less than 3.3 pounds (1.4 kilograms) the growth of these vessels slows down rapidly or in some cases stops completely. This health problem, known as ROP, resolves itself in about 85 percent of cases. In the remaining 15%, however, the eye vessels can become deformed, causing partial or total blindness in children.
Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) is a rare type of genetic eye disease that occurs before or shortly after birth. Affecting one in 80,000, LCA is the result of two copies of a genetic mutation known as an autosomal recessive disorder. In addition to blindness in children, LCA can cause extreme sensitivity to light, abnormally sunken eyes, and random eye movements.
Physical eye injuries are also a common cause of blindness in children, especially during the early childhood years. Spraying the face with harsh chemicals, lacerating the eyes, or other physical harm can cause irreparable damage to a child’s eyesight. Blindness in children, while sometimes preventable and often treatable, is a serious medical problem. With proper nutrition and early neonatal vision screenings, many babies have been able to regain much of their vision.
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