Ocular characteristics in patients with attention deficit hyperactivity

Purpose: Attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may cause adverse effects on children's daily activities, school and business life. In our study, children with untreated ADHD, which were newly diagnosed, were performed ophthalmologic examinations and ophthalmological tests to assess eye findings accompanying ADHD, considering that eye performances may be affected. Material and Method: This study was conducted prospectively between 01.02.2017 - 01.01.2018 in Inönü University Faculty of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology. The study included 37 children from patient group and 37 children from control group, whose ages betwenn 6-16 years old. All children underwent detailed ocular examination followed by color vision examination, strabismus examination, contrast sensitivity and optical coherence tomography (OCT) for retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and macular thickness measurements. Results: Although there was no statistically significant difference between the ADHD and the control group in terms of standard oculer examination, color vision, convergence insufficiency, macular thickness, and RNFL thickness, a statistically significant difference was found in the 4 spatial frequency of the 5 contrast spots in the contrast sensitivity test (respectively (p<0.001), (p<0.001), (p>0.005), (p<0.001), (p<0.001)). Conclusions: In the case of ADHD, detailed ocular examination provides an important dimension in assessing the person's abilities in addition to determining visual functions. In our study, the children with ADHD have lower levels of contrast sensitivity, which suggest that ocular findings and contrast sensitivity levels should not be ignored from children's interest in different activities to the choice of career. Therefore, which measures are to be taken for children with ADHD who have low contrast sensitivity values and changes in ocular findings with drug-treated patients should be further investigated. Keywords: Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder, Ocular Findings, Contrast Sensitivity, Color Vision, Optical Coherence Tomography