Purpose: To assess the prevalence of amblyopia in a population of adolescents screened for amblyogenic risk factors at preschool age.
Methods: Data were retrospectively collected from the preschool screening for amblyogenic risk factors routinely performed in the authors' hospital. A stratified random sampling was used. A school from the region was randomly selected and then two grades were randomly selected. All classes from these grades were evaluated and only children who were previously screened for amblyogenic risk factors were included. Ophthalmological examination included best visual acuity (distance and near, Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study scale and Jaeger eye chart) and stereopsis (Randot Stereo Test; Stereo Optical Company, Inc). Sample size was estimated as more than 283 participants. Pertinent data were extracted for analysis.
Results: A total of 520 children were recruited, and 299 met the inclusion criteria. Fifteen percent of children (n = 46) had results at the screening that prompted a further ophthalmological evaluation and 9% of children (n = 26) had meaningful refractive errors or strabismus. Overall amblyopia prevalence was 1.00%. One of the 3 children who developed amblyopia had microstrabismus, and the remaining 2 children had a previous positive screening result but missed the follow-up evaluations. At the follow-up evaluation, 79.3% (n = 237) of children were not wearing glasses.
Conclusions: A structured screening may allow the early detection of amblyogenic factors and prevent further vision deterioration in children, thus improving their long-term quality of life. The prevalence of amblyopia in this study was lower than that recently stated for Europe. [J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2020;57(6):372-377.].
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