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Observational Study
. 2018 Jul;66(7):940-944.
doi: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_1335_17.

Community outreach: An indicator for assessment of prevalence of amblyopia

Damaris Magdalene  1 , Harsha Bhattacharjee  1 , Mitalee Choudhury  1 , Prabhjot Kaur Multani  1 , Anshul Singh  1 , Saurabh Deshmukh  1 , Krati Gupta  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

Community outreach: An indicator for assessment of prevalence of amblyopia

Damaris Magdalene et al. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2018 Jul.

Abstract

Purpose: To study the prevalence, determine the magnitude, and cause of amblyopia among the children aged 6 months to 16 years in Kamrup district, Assam, India.

Methods: Among a total of 39,651 children between 6 months and 16 years of age, door-to-door screening was conducted by trained workers. For children above 5 years of age who failed to read the 6/9 line, camps were conducted in the nearby schools. Children below 5 years of age were directly referred to the tertiary eye care institute. After visual acuity assessment at the institute, cycloplegic refraction and complete ophthalmic examination were done to rule out other causes of diminution of vision. Axial length measurement and corneal topography were performed in children with high refractive errors.

Results: Of the total 39,651 children screened, 469 were diagnosed to have amblyopia at the camp and 223 were diagnosed at the institute. The prevalence of amblyopia was 1.75%. Amblyopia was more common among the males (52.50%) as compared to females. Maximum number of patients were found in the age group of 11-16 (63.58%). Refractive amblyopia was found to be the most common cause of amblyopia (45.29%). In children below 5 years, deprivation amblyopia and strabismic amblyopia were more common.

Conclusion: Awareness of amblyopia among the parents is essential for early detection and treatment of the disease, which will, in turn, reduce the burden of childhood visual impairment.

Keywords: Amblyopia; community ophthalmology; pediatric ophthalmology; population-based study; screening program.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Pie chart showing distribution of amblyopia patients diagnosed at the institute and camp level. (b) Pie chart showing the involvement of the eyes (right eye, left eye, and both eyes)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of amblyopia patients diagnosed in different areas
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) Gender distribution of patients with amblyopia. (b) Age group-wise distribution of patients with amblyopia
Figure 4
Figure 4
Detailed age-wise distribution of patients
Figure 5
Figure 5
Frequency distribution of amblyopia patients presenting to the institute directly
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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