ABSTRACT.Purpose: To determine the prevalence of amblyopia in Denmark before and after the initiation of the Danish national preschool vision screening programme. Methods: In a population-based cross-sectional study, 3826 participants of the Danish General Suburban Population Study (GESUS) aged 20 years and older from a Danish rural municipality received a complete general health examination and an ophthalmological interview and examination. This study included a comprehensive ophthalmologic interview, measurement of best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in each eye, Hirschberg's test for strabismus and two 45-degree retinal fundus photographs of each eye. A complete ophthalmologic examination was performed when indicated. Results: The prevalence of monocular visual impairment (MVI) was 4.26% (95% CI, 3.66-4.95, n = 163). Amblyopia was the most common cause, accounting for 33%. The prevalence of amblyopia was 1.44% (95% CI, 1.01-1.81, n = 55), being higher among non-preschool vision screened persons compared to those who were offered (estimated 95% attendance) preschool vision screening (1.78%, n = 41, 95% CI 1.24-2.33 versus 0.44%, n = 2, 95% CI, 0.12-1.60, p = 0.024). The leading cause of amblyopia was anisometropia (45.5%, 25/55). Conclusions: Amblyopia was the most common cause of MVI. Following the initiation of the Danish national preschool vision screening programme, which has an approximate attendance rate of 95%, the prevalence of amblyopia decreased by fourfold.

The present study indicates that the oedema-reducing effect of AZM is due to decreased leakage and stimulated active transport across the blood-retina barrier.

Aim: To evaluate the relation between the quantitative measurement of vitreous fluorescein with fluorescein angiography and retinopathy in diabetic patients with and without clinically significant macular oedema (CSMO). Methods: In a prospective cross sectional study, passive permeability and active, outward transport of fluorescein across the blood-retinal barrier were quantitated with vitreous fluorometry in 61 eyes from 48 patients with CSMO and 22 fellow eyes without CSMO, after exclusion of eyes with previous macular laser treatment and vitreous liquification. All patients were recruited from the university hospital's outpatient clinic. Retinopathy and fluorescein angiograms were evaluated on 60 degree photographs. Results: The passive permeability in CSMO was significantly correlated with the severity of leakage on fluorescein angiograms (r=0.73), the level of retinopathy (r=0.61), and visual acuity (r=0.45). Significant differences between eyes with CSMO and eyes without CSMO were found for passive permeability (p<0.001), fluorescein leakage (p<0.001), visual acuity (p=0.02), and retinopathy (p=0.002). Conclusion: Passive permeability of fluorescein quantitated with vitreous fluorometry was correlated both with semiquantitative fluorescein angiography and retinopathy, and a significant increase in passive permeability was found when comparing eyes with CSMO to eyes without CSMO. No such pattern was found for the active transport indicating that passive and not the outward, active transport is the factor of most importance in the development of CSMO. C linically significant macular oedema (CSMO) develops with time in 10-15% of diabetic patients.1 2 The tight blood-retinal barrier is damaged as the result of loss of anchor proteins in tight junctions and trans-endothelial vesicular transport in the capillary endothelial cells and/or the retinal pigment epithelium 3 4 leading to an increase in the passive leakage of water and electrolytes and retinal thickening. Quantifying the passive leakage could be valuable in clinical investigations in addition to semiquantitative photographic techniques and measurements of retinal thickness. Previous studies with vitreous fluorometry have shown an increase in passive permeability both in diabetic retinopathy and macular oedema [5][6][7] ; however, the contribution of retinopathy or oedema has not been analysed.An outward, active transport of fluorescein, inhibited by competitive and metabolic inhibitors, has been demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo. [8][9][10][11] Thus, CSMO could also be related to the metabolic activity of the retinal pigment epithelium as a result of changes in the active transport of electrolytes and water from the retina to the blood. If the active transport decreases, retinal oedema could theoretically appear. In contradiction to this hypothesis a previous study found the active transport to be significantly increased in those with CSMO compared to healthy subjects and nearly unchanged compared to a small number of eyes without CSMO. 12The pur...

We report a relatively low frequency of VI among Danish adults over 59 years of age compared with that observed 10-15 years ago, which is both consistent with other recent Scandinavian studies and reflective of our relatively healthy and mobile population sample.