Pediatric Ophthalmology
Foreword
Bonita F. Stanton, MD Consulting Editor
All five of the “traditional” senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch—are critical to a child’s development and to functioning, as a child and an adult. Globally, in both 1990 and 2010, using the current WHO definition, approximately 32 million persons worldwide were blind.1 Although adults over the age of fifty years represented nearly two-thirds of those with visual impairment,2 an estimated 1.4 million children globally were blind.3 Of course, any decrease in visual acuity can impact development and functioning. The global burden of visual difficulties is not evenly distributed; there is overwhelming evidence that rates are inversely related to national socioeconomic status.3,4 Within the United States, there is also evidence of higher rates of visual impairment among groups with fewer resources. Therefore, both within the United States and across the globe, pediatricians must be aware of conditions and circumstances that can threaten vision, available preventive measures, and new therapies for treatment. As the authors describe in this outstanding volume dedicated to vision in children, great strides have been made in recent years in preventing and identifying any loss of visual acuity, and, when identified, correcting it. The articles are written for the practicing pediatrician and thus describe conditions that you may detect in your practice and/or about which parents and patients may be knowledgeable and have questions. Bonita F. Stanton, MD School of Medicine Wayne State University 1261 Scott Hall 540 East Canfield, Suite 1261 Detroit, MI 48201, USA E-mail address: [email protected]
Pediatr Clin N Am 61 (2014) xi–xii http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pcl.2014.03.013 0031-3955/14/$ – see front matter Ó 2014 Published by Elsevier Inc.
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Foreword
REFERENCES
1. Stevens GA, White RA, Flaxman SR, et al, Vision Loss Expert Group. Global prevalence of vision impairment and blindness: magnitude and temporal trends, 1990-2010. Ophthalmology 2013;120(12):2377–84. 2. Pascolini D, Mariotti SP. Global estimates of visual impairment: 2010. Br J Ophthalmol 2012;96(5):614–8. 3. Courtright P, Hutchinson AK, Lewallen S. Visual impairment in children in middleand lower-income countries. Arch Dis Child 2011;96(12):1129–34. 4. Freeman EE, Roy-Gagnon MH, Samson E, et al. The global burden of visual difficulty in low, middle, and high income countries. PLoS One 2013;8(5):e63315.
Foreword
Bonita F. Stanton, MD Consulting Editor
All five of the “traditional” senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch—are critical to a child’s development and to functioning, as a child and an adult. Globally, in both 1990 and 2010, using the current WHO definition, approximately 32 million persons worldwide were blind.1 Although adults over the age of fifty years represented nearly two-thirds of those with visual impairment,2 an estimated 1.4 million children globally were blind.3 Of course, any decrease in visual acuity can impact development and functioning. The global burden of visual difficulties is not evenly distributed; there is overwhelming evidence that rates are inversely related to national socioeconomic status.3,4 Within the United States, there is also evidence of higher rates of visual impairment among groups with fewer resources. Therefore, both within the United States and across the globe, pediatricians must be aware of conditions and circumstances that can threaten vision, available preventive measures, and new therapies for treatment. As the authors describe in this outstanding volume dedicated to vision in children, great strides have been made in recent years in preventing and identifying any loss of visual acuity, and, when identified, correcting it. The articles are written for the practicing pediatrician and thus describe conditions that you may detect in your practice and/or about which parents and patients may be knowledgeable and have questions. Bonita F. Stanton, MD School of Medicine Wayne State University 1261 Scott Hall 540 East Canfield, Suite 1261 Detroit, MI 48201, USA E-mail address: [email protected]
Pediatr Clin N Am 61 (2014) xi–xii http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pcl.2014.03.013 0031-3955/14/$ – see front matter Ó 2014 Published by Elsevier Inc.
pediatric.theclinics.com
xii
Foreword
REFERENCES
1. Stevens GA, White RA, Flaxman SR, et al, Vision Loss Expert Group. Global prevalence of vision impairment and blindness: magnitude and temporal trends, 1990-2010. Ophthalmology 2013;120(12):2377–84. 2. Pascolini D, Mariotti SP. Global estimates of visual impairment: 2010. Br J Ophthalmol 2012;96(5):614–8. 3. Courtright P, Hutchinson AK, Lewallen S. Visual impairment in children in middleand lower-income countries. Arch Dis Child 2011;96(12):1129–34. 4. Freeman EE, Roy-Gagnon MH, Samson E, et al. The global burden of visual difficulty in low, middle, and high income countries. PLoS One 2013;8(5):e63315.
