Purpose: We assess the prevalence of spectacle wear and the factors associated with compliance among aphakic infants with congenital cataracts who underwent lens extraction in South China.
Methods: Infants aged 3 months to 3 years were enrolled from among participants in the Childhood Cataract Program of the Chinese Ministry of Health (CCPMOH). The prevalence and potential determinants of spectacle-wearing compliance were identified from interviews with the infants' caregivers.
Results: Among 192 infant caregivers, the mean (SD) age of the infants was 1.89 (0.50) years, and 57% were males. Compliance was 30.9% in the 3-month- to 1-year-old age group, 78.0% in the 1- to 2-year-old age group, and 87.0% in the 2- to 3-year-old age group. The following two factors were associated with spectacle-wearing compliance: softness of the spectacles frame (β = 1.273, P = 0.002, odds ratio [OR] = 3.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.6-8.0) and communication with other caregivers regarding the spectacle-wearing experience (β = -2.955, P = 0.034, OR = 0.1, 95% CI = 0-0.8).
Conclusions: Compliance with spectacle wear was low during the earlier stage, but increased with time in aphakic infants. However, overall compliance should be improved. Therefore, efficient strategies aimed at improving spectacle-wearing compliance are needed.
Translational relevance: These findings reveal the low spectacle-wearing compliance in aphakic infants and support useful information to improve compliance.
Keywords: aphakic infants; associated factors; congenital cataract; spectacle-wearing compliance.