Myopia and astigmatism in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder

Of 894,375 Israeli adolescents undergoing standardized medical and ocular assessments in our nationwide cross-sectional study, 2,622 (0.3%) had autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Adolescents with ASD had significantly higher adjusted odds of both myopia and astigmatism compared with peers who did not have ASD. A dose-response relationship was observed for both myopia severity and astigmatism cylinder power. Associations were consistent across all astigmatism axis orientations, most notably with-the-rule. These findings suggest that early and routine vision screening may be beneficial in identifying and addressing refractive errors among youth with ASD.