Sammanfattning
The present study shows that adoptees from eastern Europe are children at high risk of long-term health problems. The children have a high frequency (78%) of ophthalmologic abnormalities such as low visual acuity, strabismus, refractive errors, optic nerve hypoplasia and signs of visuoperceptual problems compared with a reference group (29%). More than half of the children had one or several of the following problems; adverse prenatal and perinatal events, congenital malformations, post-adoption neurodevelopmental or behavioral disorders. The adopting family needs as much pre-adoption information as possible, as well as special medical attention and social support from the organizations responsible for child health in the adoptive country. We strongly recommend that an ophthalmologic examination be performed in these children after arrival in their new home country.