title: The Prevalence of Amblyopia, Strabismus, and Ptosis in Schoolchildren of Dezful.
abstract: Purpose To determine the prevalence of amblyopia, strabismus, and ptosis among schoolchildren in Dezful in the west of Iran. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 1,375 schoolchildren of Dezful were selected through multistage cluster sampling. After obtaining written consents, participants had uncorrected and corrected visual acuity tests, cycloplegic refraction, and the cover test, and were examined for ptosis at the school site. Results Of the 1,151 study participants (83.7%), examinations were completed for 1,130 schoolchildren. Prevalence rates of amblyopia, strabismus, and ptosis were 2.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.8-4.7), 1.9% (95% CI: 0.2-3.8), and 0.8%, respectively. Anisometropia was the most common cause of amblyopia; 45.2% of cases had anisometropic amblyopia. Among cases with strabismus, 63.6% were exotropic and 36.4% were esotropic. Conclusion The present study indicated that the prevalence of amblyopia and strabismus in Dezful schoolchildren falls in the average range. Since the Amblyopia Screening Program has been running for years, we expected lower rates compared to previous years, but this was not observed. Correcting refractive errors can significantly reduce amblyopic cases.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Optometry, School of Paramedical Sciences, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad - Iran.
authors.forename: Abbasali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yekta
authors.affiliation: 2 Noor Research Center for Ophthalmic Epidemiology, Noor Eye Hospital, Tehran - Iran.
authors.forename: Hassan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hashemi
authors.affiliation: 3 Dezful University of Medical Sciences, Dezful - Iran.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Norouzirad
authors.affiliation: 4 Refractive Error Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad - Iran.
authors.forename: Hadi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ostadimoghaddam
authors.affiliation: 2 Noor Research Center for Ophthalmic Epidemiology, Noor Eye Hospital, Tehran - Iran.
authors.forename: Payam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nabovati
authors.affiliation: 5 Noor Ophthalmology Research Center, Noor Eye Hospital, Tehran - Iran.
authors.forename: Nooshin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dadbin
authors.affiliation: 3 Dezful University of Medical Sciences, Dezful - Iran.
authors.forename: Fereidon
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nirouzad
authors.affiliation: 5 Noor Ophthalmology Research Center, Noor Eye Hospital, Tehran - Iran.
authors.forename: Ehsan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shir-Alivand
authors.affiliation: 6 Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran - Iran.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khabazkhoob
keywords: Amblyopia; Cross-sectional study; Refractive errors; Strabismus