Eye size in healthy Swedish children and in children with fetal alcohol syndrome

Purpose: This study set out to collect reference data for normal ocular growth and to study the teratological effects of alcohol on eye development. Methodc Eye size was studied in 92 healthy Swedish children (age 1 month to 16 years) as reference and in 13 children (age 1.4 months to 17 years) with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) using ultrasonographic axial length measurements. Another three children with FAS were evaluated by clinical examination only. Results: The control group demonstrated a marked increase in total axial length during the first 2 years of life. Girls with FAS had a shorter total axial length (p = 0.045) than their controls. Both boys and girls with FAS demonstrated a relatively smaller vitreous body than the controls, p = 0.015 and 0.068, respectively. Three children with FAS had severe structural anomalies. Conclusion: The observations support previous studies indicating that alcohol has an adverse effect on growth and configuration of the eye.