Visual impairment in Nordic children

• Published in: Acta Ophthalmologica
• Main Authors: Riise, R., Flage, T., Hansen, E., Rosenberg, T., Rudanko, S.‐L., Viggosson, G.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1992
• Subjects: Ophthalmology; General Medicine; Norway; Iceland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-3768.1992.tb02140.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1755-3768.1992.tb02140.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1755-3768.1992.tb02140.x

Abstract A Nordic study group of ophthalmologists, NORDSYN, has compiled registers in Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway of 2527 visually impaired children aged 0–17 years. This paper is concerned with the sex‐distribution in the registers and has documented a statistically significant excess of males in two of the registers (Denmark and Finland). The dominance of males seems to be related to two main conditions: 1. Genetic factors. 2. Perinatal factors. The genetic factors are mainly concerned with X‐linked inheritance. The fact that perinatal influences involve visual impairment in males more than in females is difficult to account for. It may be conjectured, that the basis for perinatal visual damage is determined by unknown prenatal, possibly genetic, factors.