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Published on: January 14, 2020
Risk of bilateral visual impairment in individuals with amblyopia: the Rotterdam study
Redmer van Leeuwen1, Marinus J C Eijkemans, Johannes R Vingerling
1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. r.vanleeuwen@erasmusmc.nl
Background:
The excess risk of bilateral visual impairment (BVI; bilateral visual acuity <0.5) among individuals with amblyopia is an argument for screening for amblyopia, but data are scarce.
Methods:
The risk was estimated by determining the incidence of BVI in the Rotterdam Study, a population-based cohort of subjects aged 55 years or over (n = 5220), including 192 individuals with amblyopia (3.7%). Using a multistate lifetable, the lifetime risk and excess period spent with BVI were determined.
Results:
The relative risk of BVI for amblyopes was 2.6 (95% confidence interval 1.4-4.5). For individuals with amblyopia, the lifetime risk of BVI was 18%, whereas they lived on average 7.2 years with BVI. For non-amblyopic individuals, these figures were 10% and 6.7 years, respectively.
Conclusion:
Amblyopia nearly doubles the lifetime risk of BVI and affected individuals spent an extra six months with BVI. This study provides data for future cost-effectiveness analyses.