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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Children, especially boys, diagnosed with a condition that causes the eye to occasionally turn outward -- away from the nose -- appear to be more likely to develop mental illness by young adulthood than children without a similar eye condition, according to a new study.
Researchers said approximately 1 percent of developmentally healthy children experience intermittent exotropia, and given its prevalence among Asian population, worldwide, it may be the most common form of strabismus -- when the eyes deviate or are misaligned when looking at an object.
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During the 20-year study period, researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, analyzed the medical records of 183 children younger than 19 who were diagnosed with intermittent exotropia between 1975 and 1994. For each of those children, researchers also identified a child who was the same age but did not have a diagnosis of any type of strabismus. The two groups were followed to an average age of 22.
Researchers found that 53 percent of the children with intermittent exotropia were diagnosed with a mental health disorder compared with 30.1 percent of the children without the eye condition. Mental health disorders were diagnosed in 63 percent of boys and 47 percent of girls with intermittent expotropia, compared with 33 percent of boys and 28 percent of girls in the other group.
The scientists said it's not clear why there appears to be a link between the condition and mental illness, and they said further studies should investigate whether interventions for intermittent exotropia can decrease or alter the future development of mental illness.
SOURCE: Archives of Ophthalmology, June 2009
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