Abstract
Purpose: :
Vision screening programs allow early detection of children with or at risk for amblyopia. We analyzed the effect of child’s diagnosis and age on the prevalence of amblyopia in children screened by Iowa KidSight Vision Screening Program.
Methods: :
Database from Iowa KidSight Vision Screening Program was used to identify children referred to an eye specialist. The diagnosis from eye specialist, presence of amblyopia, and child’s age were recorded and analyzed with logistic regression analysis.
Results: :
From May 1, 2000 to April 30, 2007, 2680 children were referred for an eye specialist evaluation. Follow-up information was available for 1981 children. Of these, 731 children were found to have amblyopia. After performing our statistical analysis we found significant interaction between diagnosis and age (p=0.02). We analyzed the effect of age on all diagnosis types and found only statistically significant increase of prevalence in amblyopia in the children with anisometropia (p=0.002) with increased age.
Conclusions: :
Among the different diagnosis groups, anisometropia was the only diagnosis group in which the prevalence of amblyopia increased significantly with age. Vision screening technologies have allowed earlier detection of this condition. Strategies for early treatment for anisometropic children could lead to prevention or early treatment of amblyopia. Continued efforts in early detection of this condition could lead to better outcomes.
Keywords: amblyopia • screening for ambylopia and strabismus