Prevalence and pattern of amblyopia among primary school pupils in Kosofe town, Lagos state, Nigeria.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of amblyopia in primary school pupils in Kosofe town of Lagos State with a view to providing baseline data that may facilitate the establishment of routine school eye screening programs in primary schools in Lagos State.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted among pupils from public and private primary schools in Kosofe town. The pupils underwent visual acuity assessment with the HOTV charts, detailed ocular examinations and cycloplegic refractions. Data obtained were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.0.

RESULTS: A total of 1702 pupils participated in the study, out of which 899 (52.8%) were males. The age range was 4-16 years with 1630 (95.8%) pupils within the ages of 4 and 10. Amblyopia was detected in 24 (1.4%) of the screened pupils (95% confidence interval = 0.610-0.914). There was no significant sex predilection (P = 0.367) or age trend (P = 0.158) in this study although amblyopia occurred more in boys (54.2%). Refractive amblyopia (58.4%) was the most common type of amblyopia out of which anisometropic amblyopia accounted for 78.6%. Unilateral amblyopia was observed in 87.5% of the amblyopic pupils, and the left eye was more commonly affected than the right eye. All the types of amblyopia were more common within the age group of 4-10 years and in public school children (P = 0.039 and P = 0.015, respectively).

CONCLUSION: The prevalence of amblyopia in this study was low and it falls within the general prevalence range for amblyopia in Nigeria.