A systematic review of Amblyopia prevalence among the children of the world

Ali Mostafaie; Morteza Ghojazadeh; Hossein Hosseinifard; Hesam Manaflouyan; Fereshteh Farhadi; Nazli Taheri; Fariba Pashazadeh

doi:10.22336/rjo.2020.56

A systematic review of Amblyopia prevalence among the children of the world

Rom J Ophthalmol. 2020 Oct-Dec;64(4):342-355. doi: 10.22336/rjo.2020.56.

Authors

Ali Mostafaie¹, Morteza Ghojazadeh², Hossein Hosseinifard², Hesam Manaflouyan³, Fereshteh Farhadi³, Nazli Taheri¹, Fariba Pashazadeh²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ophthalmology, Nikookari Ophthalmology University Hospital, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
² Research Center for Evidence based-medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
³ Student's Committee, Research Center for Evidence based-medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.

Abstract

Objective: to assess the prevalence of Amblyopia disease in the children of the world. Methods: In order to perform this systematic review, PICO was considered as the research question. Then, the preferred keywords were searched in Medline (via PubMed), Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and ProQuest databases. The retrieved citations were reviewed by two independent inspectors in a three-step process in terms of the title, abstract, and full-text, based on the inclusion criteria. The studies included in the review were critically evaluated and then were extracted by two dependent expert reviewers. Finally, the prevalence of Amblyopia disease in the children of the world was pooled by meta-analysis CMA v.2 software. The heterogeneity of the selected studies was evaluated using I2 and chi-square. Also, subgroup-analysis was performed using designs and continents. Results: Out of 952 retrieved citations, 131 studies were included. The total prevalence of Amblyopia in the children of the world was calculated to be 4.3% [Pooled Prevalence: 4.3%, 95% CI: 2.6%-7.00%, P-value 0.0001]. In addition, the heterogeneity of the studies was reported to be high (Q: 48281.18, df: 56, p-value 0.001, I-square: 99.88). The subgroup analysis showed that America had the highest (5.57%, 95% CI: 2.23%-13.94%, P-value 0.0001) prevalence, and the lowest prevalence of Amblyopia in the children of the world was seen in Africa (7.1%, 95% CI: 0.003%-172.53%, P-value 0.05). Conclusion: It can be concluded that the total prevalence of Amblyopia is 3.4%, but this estimate varies in all continents, especially in Africa. The major reason for this variation was reported to be the heterogeneity of studies. These assessments have investigated different populations in terms of severity of illness, age, and gender. Therefore, further worldwide high-quality and valid studies should be carried out to allow the calculation of the real prevalence of Amblyopia among children of the world. Abbreviations: VA = visual acuity, ALSPAC = Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, JBI = Joanna Briggs Institute, PRISMA = Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, CMA = Comprehensive Meta-analysis Software.

Keywords: Amblyopia; child; meta-analysis; prevalence; systematic review.

Publication types

Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Amblyopia / epidemiology*
Child
Global Health
Humans
Prevalence