Prevalence and Profile of Amblyopia in Children at Bharatpur Eye Hospital - Abstract
Background: Amblyopia is the most common visual disorder in childhood. Its prevalence is often underestimated because of lack of awareness and proper study. This study aims to assess the magnitude and clinical profile of amblyopia in children attending Bharatpur Eye Hospital, Nepal.
Methods: This study included 113 amblyopic children among a total of 8,017 children below 16 years of age. Relevant demographic and ocular parameters were noted for each child. Visual acuity (VA) was taken with appropriate charts based on the age and cooperation level of the child. Amblyopic children underwent cycloplegic refraction, orthoptic evaluation and ocular examination. Severity of amblyopia was classified as mild moderate and severe based on the acuity line difference in Snellen’s chart.
Results: The prevalence of amblyopia in the study was 1.40%. Amblyopia was more prevalent in males (1.47%) than females (1.11%). The mean age of the children was 9 years and 3.8 months with only 37(32.74%) presenting below the age of 8 years. More than 40 %( n-49) had no history of eye checks and were only detected amblyopic at the time of study. The majority of the children were amblyopic due to uncorrected refractive error, Forty (35.4%) were isoametropic, 34(30.1%) were anisometropic and only 12.4% were strabismic amblyopia respectively. Most children had severe (57.5%) and moderate (25.5%) amblyopia.
Conclusion: Uncorrected refractive error is a major cause of amblyopia in children. Early detection and correction of refractive error alone can reduce the burden of child’s visual impairment due to amblyopia.