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Study shows higher prevalence of amblyopia among white preschool-aged children
Ophthalmology. 2009;116:2128-2134.
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Amblyopia was identified in less than 2% of white and African-American preschool-aged children, but white children had a slightly higher prevalence of manifest strabismus, according to a population-based study.
National population projections suggest that manifest strabismus affects about 677,000 preschool children and amblyopia affects 271,000 children, the study authors said.
"An accurate estimate of the prevalences of strabismus and amblyopia among African-American and white preschool children using a population-based sample would guide refinement of the recommendations for screening and perhaps lead to development of targeted approaches to screening for and treating these conditions during the preschool period," they said.
The Baltimore Pediatric Eye Disease Study included 2,546 white and African-American children aged 6 to 71 months who underwent comprehensive eye examinations that involved optotype visual acuity testing, fixation preference at near, and testing of ocular alignment at near and distance fixation.
Study data showed manifest strabismus in 3.3% of white children and 2.1% of African-American children. The difference was statistically insignificant. Among children aged 60 to 71 months, 5.8% of white children and 2.9% of African-American children had manifest strabismus.
Amblyopia was identified in 1.8% of white children and 0.8% of African-American children. The higher percentage among white children was attributed to a slightly higher prevalence of anisometropic amblyopia in that group.
The prevalence of this population-based study of preschoolers showed that strabismus was present in 2.1% among African Americans and 3.3% of whites and amblyopia was 0.8% for African Americans and 1.8% for whites. These numbers continue to add to our knowledge to determine the appropriate guidelines to vision screen children in the preschool age group. These statistics show that vision screening is the appropriate method to identify the small percentage of children that should then be referred to the pediatric ophthalmologist for a comprehensive eye exam rather than mandating eye exams for every child.
– Robert S. Gold, MD
OSN
Pediatrics/Strabismus Section Editor