Contact Us
E: ja.little@ulster.ac.uk
T: +44 28 70124374
Vision Science Research Group
NICER Study
Northern Ireland Childhood Errors of Refraction (NICER) Study
How you can help us in the next phase of the NICER study!
Information for parents and 12-13 year olds
Information for 18-19 year olds
Introduction
The NICER study is an on-going study of the eyes and vision of children and young adults in Northern Ireland. We are particularly interested in how the need for glasses (refractive error) differs between different people at different ages. Part of the study is examining whether we can predict how long- or short-sighted a child might become depending on their parents’ need for glasses, the amount of reading and studying they do, the length of time they spend outdoors and the size and shape of the eyes in early childhood.
The NICER study is the first of its kind in the UK and Ireland to publish robust information on school age children’s vision and refractive error since the 1960’s. So far, we have published papers (see Journal publications) in high quality scientific journals and have also presented the results of the study at professional conferences around the world.
These webpages are designed to update parents, children and schools who participated in the study on what their involvement has helped us achieve.
We hope you will continue to be involved in this ground breaking study and help us with our next phase - How you can help us in the next phase of the NICER study!
Our findings so far…
Children in Northern Ireland are more likely to need glasses
Short-sightedness is a growing problem across the world with more and more people needing glasses to correct this. We have found that in Northern Ireland, children of secondary or grammar school age are more likely to be short-sighted than children in Australia and Poland but less likely to be short-sighted than children in Singapore and Sweden.
We also found that children in Northern Ireland of both primary and secondary/grammar school age were more likely to be long-sighted and had greater levels of astigmatism (sometimes called ‘rugby ball shaped’ eyes) than children from other countries. Work is ongoing to explore why these population differences exist and we are currently working with partners in Birmingham (UK) and Sydney (Australia).
Children in Northern Ireland do not bring their glasses to school
One in four children who had been prescribed glasses did not have them available at school. Forgetting to bring your glasses to school is likely to cause reduced vision, visual discomfort and may impact on school performance.
No evidence of over-prescribing in Northern Ireland
The study found no evidence of over-prescribing glasses; therefore those who did not have their glasses at school were likely to require them.
Measuring vision is a poor method for detecting refractive errors
Vision screening programmes often depend on the measurement of vision to detect eye disorders. Our results have shown that this is a poor method of detecting whether a child needs glasses or not and children who are long-sighted may be missed. Where there is a family history of wearing glasses, parents/guardians/carers should be aware of the importance of taking their child for a full eye examination with an optometrist to detect whether their child may also need to wear glasses themselves.
Progression of Refractive Error
There are very few studies in the world that have assessed how the need for glasses changes as children get older. We know that myopia (short-sightedness) becomes more common and often increases as children grow. We are in the process of checking how the children in the NICER study’s refractive error changed between the first and second visits. We will soon be able to tell you these results! Keep checking the website for regular updates on our findings!
How will the information from the NICER study be used?
The knowledge we have gained from the study will be passed on to eye care professionals within Northern Ireland, the UK and throughout the world. Optometrists are often quizzed by patients seeking information on how their eye conditions, such as short-sightedness may change over the years and the results from the NICER study will help inform both practitioners and patients. Government agencies are also in need of data relating to the prevalence of eye conditions in order that appropriate services are provided. Your contribution to the NICER study may help to provide better eye care services for children in the future.
Acknowledgments
The members of the NICER Study would like to thank the College of Optometrists for their generous funding of the project. We would also like to thank all the children who participate in the study, their parents/guardians for their support and the cooperation of the primary and post-primary schools who facilitate the data collection.
Journal Publications
- O’Donoghue, L., Saunders, K.J., McClelland, J.F., Logan, N.S., Rudnicka, A.R.,Gilmartin, B., Owen, C.G. (2010). Sampling and measurement methods for a study of childhood refractive error in a UK population, British Journal of Ophthalmology, 94(9):1150-1154.
- O’Donoghue, L., McClelland, J.F., Logan, N.S., Rudnicka, A.R., Owen, C.G., Saunders, K.J. (2010). Refractive error and visual impairment in school children in Northern Ireland, British Journal of Ophthalmology, 94(9):1155-1159.
- O’Donoghue, L., Rudnicka, A.R., McClelland, J.F., Logan, N.S., Owen, C.G., Saunders, K.J. (2011). Refractive and corneal astigmatism in white school children in Northern Ireland, Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 52(7):4048-4053.
- McClelland, J.F., O’Donoghue, L., McIntyre, M., Saunders, K.J. (2012). Cup-to-disc and arteriole-to-venule ratios in children aged 6-7 and 12-13 years, Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics, 32(1):31-38.
International Presentations
- March 2009, College of Optometrists Research Symposium, Brighton, O’Donoghue, L., Saunders, K.J., McClelland, J.F., Logan, N.S., Rudnicka, A.R., Owen, C.G. The Northern Ireland Childhood Refractive Error Study: prevalence of refractive error.
- May 2009, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, Florida, K.J. Saunders, McClelland, J.F., O’Donoghue, L. Uncorrected refractive error in the United Kingdom.
- May 2009, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, Florida, O’Donoghue, L., Saunders, K.J., McClelland, J.F., Logan, N.S., Rudnicka, A.R., Owen, C.G. Prevalence of childhood refractive error in the United Kingdom.
- June 2009, Child Vision Research Society Annual Meeting,O’Donoghue, L., Saunders, K.J., McClelland, J.F., Logan, N.S., Rudnicka, A.R., Owen, C.G. Prevalence of refractive error in Northern Irish children.
- July 2010, International Myopia Conference, Tűbingen, Germany, O’Donoghue, L., Rudnicka, A.R., McClelland, J.F., Logan, N., Owen, C.G., Saunders, K.J. Refractive astigmatism in school-children in the United Kingdom.
- July 2010, International Myopia Conference, Tűbingen, Germany, Saunders, K.J., McClelland, J.F., O’Donoghue, L. The use of LogMAR visions in detectign ametropia in school-children in the United Kingdom.
- July 2010, International Myopia Conference, Tűbingen, Germany, Breslin, K.M.M., Saunders, K.J., O’Donoghue, L., McClelland, J.F. Inter-examiner repeatability of the Zeiss IOL Master on post-primary school children aged 15-16 years.
- September 2010, World Congress on Refractive Error, Durban, South Africa, O’Donogue, L., McClelland, J.F., Saunders, K.J. Visual impairment in childhood in Northern Ireland; Comparisons with South Africa.
- September 2010, World Congress on Refractive Error, Durban, South Africa, Saunders, K.J., McClelland, J.F., O’Donoghue, L. Prevalence of childhood myopia and hyperopia in Northern Ireland; Comparisons with South Africa.
- March 2011, College of Optometrists Research Symposium, Liverpool, Breslin, K.M.M., McClelland, J.F., O’Donoghue, L., Saunders, K.J. A prospective study of refractive error change in school children in the UK: Phase 2 of the Northern Ireland Childhood Errors of Refraction (NICER) Study.
- May 2011, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, Florida, O’Donoghue, L., McClelland, J.F., Saunders, K.J. The use of visual acuity to screen for significant refractive error in white school children in the United Kingdom.
- May 2011, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, Florida, Breslin, K., Saunders, K.J., O’Donoghue, L., McClelland, J.F. Axial Length And Refractive Error Prior To And After The Onset Of Myopia.
How you can help us in the next phase of the NICER study!