Children age 6 and older with squint or crossed eyes are less likely than others to be invited to birthday parties, researchers in Switzerland say.
Dr. Daniel Stephane Mojon of Kantonsspital in St. Gallen, Switzerland, digitally altered photographs of six children from six identical twin pairs to create inward and outward types of visible squint.
The study involved 118 children 3-12, either patients at an eye clinic or the siblings of patients, with normally aligned eyes.
The study participants were asked to select four identical twins they would invite to their birthday party. If a squint made no difference, an average selection of two children with a squint would be expected, the study authors say.
The study found of the 31 children ages 4-6, one did not select any child with a squint, while 21 selected a child with a squint once or twice and nine children chose a child with a squint three or four times. However, among the 48 children ages 6-8, 18 did not select any child with a squint; 17 did once, 11 did so twice; two did so three times and none did so four times.
The study, published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, finds among the children ages 6-8, 48 percent noticed the squint, while 19 percent of those ages 4-6 year commented on the squint.