Ophthalmic Findings in Aboriginal Children with High Rates of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: The Lililwan Project.

PURPOSE: To describe ophthalmic findings in an Indigenous paediatric population and the associations between fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE), and eye anomalies.

METHODS: Medical records were reviewed for eye problems, and eye assessments were conducted by an orthoptist or ophthalmologist in the Lililwan Project cohort, which comprised 108 (81%) of all children born between 2002 and 2003, and residing in the remote Fitzroy Valley, Western Australia in 2010. Values from ophthalmic assessments and prevalence of abnormalities were presented for the total cohort and stratified by group: FASD; PAE (no FASD); and No PAE.

RESULTS: Of children, 55% had PAE and 19% FASD. Most (98%) had normal vision; 15.6% had keratometry cylinder values indicating astigmatism and potential for improved vision with glasses. Strabismus (22.3%), short palpebral fissure length (PFL; 21.3%), upslanting palpebral fissures (12.0%), follicular trachomatous inflammation (6.9%), abnormal slit lamp assessments (6.7%), retinal tortuosity (6.7%), and blepharoptosis (5.6%) were identified. Strabismus and trachoma rates were higher than in the general child population. Ophthalmic findings were similar between groups except for prevalence of short PFL (FASD > No PAE; p  = 0.003); abnormal keratometry cylinder values (FASD [29.4%] and PAE (no FASD) [20.0%] > No PAE [5.3%]; p  = 0.031) and blepharoptosis (FASD [9.5%] > other groups [0%]; p  = 0.040).

CONCLUSION: Despite the small sample, some eye abnormalities were higher in children with PAE and/or FASD. Access to eye services or assessment of vision and structural eye anomalies is essential for Indigenous children, particularly those with PAE or FASD to allow early effective treatment.