PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - van Leeuwen, Redmer
AU  - Eijkemans, Marinus J C
AU  - Vingerling, Johannes R
AU  - Hofman, Albert
AU  - de Jong, Paulus T V M
AU  - Simonsz, Huib J
TI  - Risk of bilateral visual impairment in individuals with amblyopia: the Rotterdam study
AID  - 10.1136/bjo.2006.113670
DP  - 2007 Nov 01
TA  - British Journal of Ophthalmology
PG  - 1450--1451
VI  - 91
IP  - 11
4099  - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/91/11/1450.short
4100  - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/91/11/1450.full
SO  - Br J Ophthalmol2007 Nov 01; 91
AB  - 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.