Bhatnagar Kavita R, Roy Falguni, Jaisingh Kirti, Agrawal Nikhil, Bhardwaj Pankaj, Raghav Pankaja
Ophthalmology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, Jodhpur, IND.
Community Medicine & Family Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, Jodhpur, IND.
Cureus. 2025 Apr 7;17(4):e81818. doi: 10.7759/cureus.81818. eCollection 2025 Apr.
Background This study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with amblyopia among preschool and school-going children aged 3-12 years. Methodology A cross-sectional, observational study was conducted on 1,683 preschool and school-going children in western India. They were divided into three groups (group A: 3-5 years, group B: 6-9 years, and group C: 10-12 years). All participants underwent comprehensive ophthalmological evaluations to identify ocular causes of amblyopia such as refractive errors, strabismus, and stimulus deprivation. Non-ocular risk factors were assessed through detailed parental questionnaires addressing prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal histories. Results Of the children screened, 5.88% (n = 99) were diagnosed with refractive errors, and 1.66% (n = 28) were diagnosed with amblyopia. Among amblyopic children, refractive amblyopia was the most prevalent at 71.43% (n = 20, p < 0.0001), followed by strabismic amblyopia (21.43%, n = 6) and stimulus deprivation amblyopia (7.14%, n = 2). Astigmatism was found to be most amblyogenic in cases of both unilateral and bilateral amblyopia, though hypermetropic amblyopic children formed the majority of the refractive amblyopia population. The majority of children had moderately severe amblyopia across all age groups. Significant non-ocular risk factors included pre-obese maternal body mass index at conception (p < 0.001) and low birth weight (p < 0.001). Although preterm birth also emerged as a major risk factor, the results were not significant (p = 0.063). Conclusions Amblyopia in children can be attributed to both modifiable ocular and non-ocular risk factors. It is one of the most common reversible causes of childhood blindness. Early identification and intervention are essential for optimal visual outcomes, highlighting the importance of initiating amblyopia screening programs starting at preschool ages.
背景 本研究旨在确定3至12岁学龄前和学龄儿童弱视的患病率及相关危险因素。方法 对印度西部1683名学龄前和学龄儿童进行了一项横断面观察性研究。他们被分为三组（A组：3至5岁，B组：6至9岁，C组：10至12岁）。所有参与者均接受了全面的眼科评估，以确定弱视的眼部病因，如屈光不正、斜视和形觉剥夺。通过详细的家长问卷评估非眼部危险因素，问卷涉及产前、围产期和产后病史。结果 在筛查的儿童中，5.88%（n = 99）被诊断为屈光不正，1.66%（n = 28）被诊断为弱视。在弱视儿童中，屈光性弱视最为常见，占71.43%（n = 20，p < 0.0001），其次是斜视性弱视（21.43%，n = 6）和形觉剥夺性弱视（7.14%，n = 2）。在单眼和双眼弱视病例中，散光被发现是最易导致弱视的因素，尽管远视性弱视儿童在屈光性弱视人群中占大多数。所有年龄组的大多数儿童患有中度重度弱视。重要的非眼部危险因素包括受孕时母亲体重指数为肥胖前期（p < 0.001）和低出生体重（p < 0.001）。虽然早产也被视为一个主要危险因素，但结果不显著（p = 0.063）。结论 儿童弱视可归因于可改变的眼部和非眼部危险因素。它是儿童失明最常见的可逆病因之一。早期识别和干预对于实现最佳视觉效果至关重要，这凸显了从学龄前开始启动弱视筛查项目的重要性。
