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Blindness and Other Diseases in Children Arising in Consequence of Deficient Nutrition (Lack of Fat Soluble a Factor)¹

University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

ABSTRACT

While blindness in children has been on the decrease in the greater part of the civilized world, the opposite has taken place in Denmark. Blindness in children has increased not only absolutely but also relatively to the population. Many causes have contributed to the diminution of blindness in other countries, but the chief one undoubtedly is that gonorrhoeal opthalmoblenorrhoea in the newborn has become a rare disease as a result of the special measures which have been adopted against it everywhere. That gonorrhoeal opthalmia has become a rarity also applies to Denmark but in spite of this the percentage of blindness in children is increasing.

There is however, another disease of the eye peculiar to childhood which leads to blindness. This is xerophthalmia. It was first described in the middle of last century by German ophthalmologists. According to all previous reports xerophthalmia had a very serious prognosis as it occurred particularly in the final stage of a cachectic condition due to a protracted wasting disease such as tuberculosis, syphilis, typhoid fever, acute or chronic digestive diseases, etc., and especially in badly nourished and debilitated children.

¹ This paper was read by Dr. C. E. Bloch before the World's Dairy Congress, Washington, D. C., October 3, 1923.