[The incidence of squinting in school beginners in Hamburg (author's transl)]

In 830 children medically examined at the time of beginning school 20% showed conditions which needed treatment or correction. From these children half had never been in ophthalmological treatment. We found a squint in 52 children (6.3%), and from these, 9 (17.3% of the squinters) showed microstrabismus. One squinter in five had never started ophthalmological treatment. Out of the non-squinting children, however, 15 out of 778 (1.9%) had amblyopia (6/12 or worse visual acuity). In 4 cases an organic condition was the cause of the reduced visual acuity. Among the squinters amblyopia was commoner--23 out of 52 cases (44.2%). From these 4 showed bilateral amblyopia.