EVALUATION DES HANDICAPS VISUELS DES ENFANTS DE CINQ ANS D'AGE A MAYOTTE ETUDE PROSPECTIVE SUR 2 849 ENFANTS EN L'AN 2000

摘要

To gain first insight into the prevalence of visual disability among children in Mayotte, a comprehensive study was undertaken in 2000 to determine the prevalence of impaired visual acuity, color blindness, ocular malformation, and oculomotor disturbance in five-year olds, second-year nursery schoolchildren. After preliminary assessment at school, children with serious visual impairment were referred for further examination by an ophthalmologist. Data was used to assess the number of visually impaired children in comparison with epidemiological data from metropolitan France and other countries as well as to estimate health care requirements in terms of the number of visual disabilities to be treated, glasses to be prescribed and rehabilitative and support programs to be set up. This study was novel not only for Mayotte but also for France because of the homogeneity of the population in terms of both age and geography. Results showed that children in Mayotte presented the same spectrum of eye disease as children elsewhere in the world. The prevalence of serious visual impairment was generally the same among 5-year-olds living in Mayotte as among their counterparts living in metropolitan France and English-speaking countries. However refractive visual disability was three times lower than among children in higher age brackets in metropolitan France.%Afin de connaître la prévalence du handicap visuel à Mayotte, une vaste étude de mesure de l'acuité visuelle, de la vision des couleurs, des malformations oculaires et de la présence de troubles oculomoteurs des enfants scolarisée en maternelle a été entreprise. Après un dépistage en milieu scolaire, les enfants présentant un déficit visuel ont été adressés à l'ophtalmologiste qui les a examinés. Des données sur la réfraction, la vision des couleurs, les troubles oculomoteurs et les patho-logies ont été recueillies et analysées. Les fréquences de ces troubles sont comparées à celles retrouvées dans la littérature. Une extrapolation à l'ensemble de la population est un indicateur des besoins ophtalmologiques de l'île de Mayotte.