Prevalence of Amblyopia and Strabismus in White and African American Children Aged 6 through 71 Months. The Baltimore Pediatric Eye Disease Study

Authors

David S. Friedman, Wilmer Eye Institute
Michael X. Repka, Wilmer Eye Institute
Joanne Katz, Wilmer Eye Institute
Lydia Giordano, Wilmer Eye Institute
Josephine Ibironke, Wilmer Eye Institute
Patricia Hawse, Wilmer Eye Institute
James M. Tielsch, Wilmer Eye InstituteFollow

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

1-1-2009

Journal

Ophthalmology

Volume

116

Issue

11

DOI

10.1016/j.ophtha.2009.04.034

Abstract

Objective: To determine the age-specific prevalence of strabismus in white and African American children aged 6 through 71 months and of amblyopia in white and African American children aged 30 through 71 months. Design: Cross-sectional, population-based study. Participants: White and African American children aged 6 through 71 months in Baltimore, MD, United States. Among 4132 children identified, 3990 eligible children (97%) were enrolled and 2546 children (62%) were examined. Methods: Parents or guardians of eligible participants underwent an in-home interview and were scheduled for a detailed eye examination, including optotype visual acuity and measurement of ocular deviations. Strabismus was defined as a heterotropia at near or distance fixation. Amblyopia was assessed in those children aged 30 through 71 months who were able to perform optotype testing at 3 meters. Main Outcome Measures: The proportions of children aged 6 through 71 months with strabismus and of children aged 30 through 71 months with amblyopia. Results: Manifest strabismus was found in 3.3% of white and 2.1% of African American children (relative prevalence [RP], 1.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.97-2.66). Esotropia and exotropia each accounted for close to half of all strabismus in both groups. Only 1 case of strabismus was found among 84 white children 6 through 11 months of age. Rates were higher in children 60 through 71 months of age (5.8% for whites and 2.9% for African Americans [RP, 2.05; 95% CI, 0.79-5.27]). Amblyopia was present in 12 (1.8%) white and 7 (0.8%) African American children (RP, 2.23; 95% CI, 0.88-5.62). Only 1 child had bilateral amblyopia. Conclusions: Manifest strabismus affected 1 in 30 white and 1 in 47 African American preschool-aged children. The prevalence of amblyopia was <2% in both whites and African Americans. National population projections suggest that there are approximately 677 000 cases of manifest strabismus among children 6 through 71 months of age and 271 000 cases of amblyopia among children 30 through 71 months of age in the United States. Financial Disclosure(s): The authors have no proprietary or commercial interest in any of the materials discussed in this article. © 2009 American Academy of Ophthalmology.

APA Citation

Friedman, D., Repka, M., Katz, J., Giordano, L., Ibironke, J., Hawse, P., & Tielsch, J. (2009). Prevalence of Amblyopia and Strabismus in White and African American Children Aged 6 through 71 Months. The Baltimore Pediatric Eye Disease Study. Ophthalmology, 116 (11). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ophtha.2009.04.034