Purpose: The objective of this study was to compare the prevalence and types of eye disorders in a clinical sample of 118 adult people diagnosed with infantile autism (IA) during childhood with 336 sex- and age-matched controls from the general population.
Methods: All participants were screened through the nationwide Danish National Hospital Register. The average observation time of both groups was 37.2 years, and mean age was 49.6 years, by the end of the observation period.
Results: The overall prevalence of any eye disorder was 15.3% (18/118) in cases with IA, compared to 10.1% (34/336) in controls (p = 0.18). Refraction and accommodation disorders were significantly associated with IA: 7.6% (9/118) vs 1.2% (4/336) (p = 0.001). The rate of eye disorder was particularly high (24.5%) in those with a co-occurring profound or severe learning disability (IQ < 50).
Conclusions: Refraction and accommodation disorders were more frequently present in Danish adults with IA, particularly when a profound or severe learning disability was co-present. The increased prevalence of eye disorders in participants with a severe or profound learning disability, and the fact that people with IA do not necessarily realize the presence of a vision deficit, necessitates increased ophthalmological attention.
Keywords: Aging; eye disorders; infantile autism; intelligence; oculomotor dysfunction.