Influence of Vision on Educational Performance: A Multivariate Analysis

Abstract

(1) Background: According to the World Report on Vision published by WHO, 123.7 million people around the world have vision impairment due to uncorrected refractive errors. Vision impairment affects many aspects of our lives, and it is related to low academic performance; (2) Methods: A prospective and multicenter study has been carried out in 1400 optical centers in Spain. A visual screening was carried out by optometrists on children aged between 6 and 12; (3) Results: 6673 children of primary school have been checked. The multivariate analysis reveals that 5.2% of the poor academic performance is related to vision. Poor academic performance was independent and significantly affected by sex, age, near vision, hyperopia, binocular dysfunctions, and bad ocular motility; (4) Conclusions: Vision plays a key role in optimum academic performance; consequently, the early detection of refractive errors and other visual problems is essential to improve the academic performance of schoolchildren.