Abstract
Purpose: :
Whether population-based screening for amblyopia is cost-effective is still a topic of debate. We determined visual acuity and refractive error in an unscreened cohort of children, and assessed prevalence of amblyopia.
Methods: :
All children aged 0-12 years living in a rural village in Poland were invited to participate in an orthoptic and ophthalmologic examination including best-corrected LogMAR visual acuity and cyclopegic refraction. Amblyopia was defined as a visual acuity >0.3 and a difference of more than 2 LogMAR lines.
Results: :
591 children (94.1%) were examined, of whom 51% were boys. Of children with measurable visual acuity (421), 31% had visual acuity > 0.1, and 10.7% had visual acuity >0.3. The mean spherical equivalent was 1.17D ranging from -5D to +7.75D; refractive error was the sole cause of low vision (>0.3) in 7%. Prevalence of amblyopia was 2.5%; main cause was anisometropia (33%).
Conclusions: :
Prevalence of amblyopia was more than twice as high as in screened populations. Uncorrected refractive error was the most common cause of decreased visual acuity, and a common cause of amblyopia. We recommend population-based survey in preschool children with a focus on visual acuity.
Keywords: amblyopia • refraction • visual acuity