Strabismic amblyopia frequent cause of unilateral visual impairment: study

Strabismic amblyopia was found to be a significant cause of unilateral visual impairment in a large-scale study. In addition, the study found that myopia was about twice as frequent in subjects with a university degree than in the remaining population.

Line Kessel and colleagues at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, reported on visual acuity and refractive error data collected as part of the Inter99 Eye Study, an epidemiological study of 970 subjects between the ages of 30 and 60 in a suburban Danish population. The study included a random control group, as well as groups at high risk for ischemic heart disease and diabetes.

For the current study, data was taken from a control group of 502 subjects. All subjects completed a detailed questionnaire and underwent a standardized ophthalmic examination that included best corrected visual acuity and subjective refraction.

Visual acuity of less than 0.05 was found in one eye of one subject, and VA of less than 0.3 was found in 11 eyes of 11 subjects. The main cause of reduced VA was strabismic amblyopia. Myopia – defined as a refractive error of –0.5 D or worse – was present in 33.1% of right eyes in the total population. Myopia was present in 56.8% of those with a university degree.

The study is published in the February issue of Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica.