Study finds farsighted children struggle to concentrate

A US study of 492 children has found that farsighted four and five-year-olds have poorer concentration and hand-eye coordination when compared to those with normal vision.

Researchers from Ohio State University measured the attention spans, visual-motor integration and visual perception of 244 hyperopes and 248 emmetropes. Their findings are published in Optometry and Vision Science.

They discovered that moderately farsighted children had deficits in measures of attention, while hyperopic children with reduced near visual function also had lower scores on tests of visual-motor integration and visual perception.

The researchers observed that further studies are needed to determine the effect of refractive correction on the highlighted deficits.

“It is important to determine whether correction of hyperopia benefits preschool children by improving their ability to perform tasks,” the authors wrote.