The Global Prevalence of Amblyopia in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Epidemiological data about the prevalence of amblyopia around the world vary widely among regions and periods. This meta-analysis aimed to determine the global prevalence of amblyopia in children. PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched for prevalence studies published up to 5 November 2021. The outcome was the prevalence of amblyopia, analyzed as pooled estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CI). A total of 97 studies were included, including 4,645,274 children and 7,706 patients with amblyopia. The overall worldwide pooled prevalence of amblyopia was 1.36% (95%CI: 1.27–1.46%). The prevalence of amblyopia was higher in males (1.40%, 95%CI: 1.10–1.70%) than in females (1.24%, 95%CI: 0.94–1.54%) (OR = 0.885, 95%CI: 0.795–0.985, P = 0.025). The results of the meta-regression analysis showed that there were no significant associations between the prevalence of amblyopia and geographical area, publication year, age, sample size, and whether it was carried out in a developed or developing country (all P > 0.05). Begg’s test (P = 0.065) and Egger’s test (P < 0.001) showed that there was a significant publication bias in the prevalence of amblyopia. In conclusion, amblyopia is a significant vision problem worldwide, and public health strategies of early screening, treatment, and management are important.

Long-Term Efficacy of the Combination of Active Vision Therapy and Occlusion in Children with Strabismic and Anisometropic Amblyopia

“…Amblyopia is a neurological disorder that affects the development of the visual system in early life [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Several studies have reported and listed the differences that are present between strabismic and anisometropic amblyopia [ 4 , 5 ], this differential behavior being an important factor when considering the protocol for amblyopia rehabilitation.…”

Frequency of Amblyopia in strabismus patients presenting to tertiary care hospital

“…Amblyopia was present in 1.36% of people worldwide being generally of 95% CI: 1.27-1.46%. Males were more likely to experience amblyopia (OR = 0.885, 95% CI: 0.795-0.985, P = 0.025) than females (1.24%, 95% CI: 0.94-1.54%), our results slightly differing in gender distribution [ 10 ].…”

Evaluation of Retinal Microvascular Features in Patients with Amblyopia Based on Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…The prevalence of amblyopia worldwide varies widely among regions and periods. Early diagnosis and treatment help restore vision [2, 3]. Amblyopia results from a cortical visual imbalance, but retinal level changes may also be present [1, 4].…”