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The effect of adherence to spectacle wear on early developing literacy: a longitudinal study based in a large multi-ethnic city, Bradford, UK
Bruce, A. Kelly, B. Chambers, B. Barrett, Brendan T. Bloj, Marina Bradbury, J. Sheldon, T.A.
Bruce, A.
Kelly, B.
Chambers, B.
Barrett, Brendan T.
Bloj, Marina
Bradbury, J.
Sheldon, T.A.
Publication Date
2018-06
End of Embargo
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© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text
of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise
expressly granted.This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix,
adapt and build upon this work, for commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited.
See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Peer-Reviewed
Yes
Open Access status
openAccess
Accepted for publication
2018-05-15
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Abstract
Objectives: To determine the impact of adherence to
spectacle wear on visual acuity (VA) and developing
literacy following vision screening at age 4–5 years.
Design: Longitudinal study nested within the Born in
Bradford birth cohort.
Setting and participants: Observation of 944 children:
432 had failed vision screening and were referred
(treatment group) and 512 randomly selected (comparison
group) who had passed (<0.20 logarithm of the minimum
angle of resolution (logMAR) in both eyes). Spectacle wear
was observed in school for 2 years following screening
and classified as adherent (wearing spectacles at each
assessment) or non-adherent.
Main outcome measures: Annual measures of VA
using a crowded logMAR test. Literacy was measured by
Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised subtest: letter
identification.
Results: The VA of all children improved with increasing
age, −0.009 log units per month (95% CI −0.011 to
−0.007) (worse eye). The VA of the adherent group
improved significantly more than the comparison group, by
an additional −0.008 log units per month (95% CI −0.009
to −0.007) (worse eye) and −0.004 log units per month
(95% CI −0.005 to −0.003) in the better eye. Literacy was
associated with the VA, letter identification (ID) reduced
by −0.9 (95% CI −1.15 to −0.64) for every one line (0.10
logMAR) fall in VA (better eye). This association remained
after adjustment for socioeconomic and demographic
factors (−0.33, 95% CI −0.54 to −0.12). The adherent
group consistently demonstrated higher letter-ID scores
compared with the non-adherent group, with the greatest
effect size (0.11) in year 3.
Conclusions: Early literacy is associated with the level of
VA; children who adhere to spectacle wear improve their
VA and also have the potential to improve literacy. Our
results suggest failure to adhere to spectacle wear has
implications for the child’s vision and education.
Version
Published version
Citation
Bruce A, Kelly B, Chambers B et al (2018) The effect of adherence to spectacle wear on
early developing literacy: a longitudinal study based in a large multi-ethnic city, Bradford, UK. BMJ
Open. 8(6): e021277.
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Article