Vision screening programmes for amblyopia (lazy eye)

Amblyopia, commonly known as “lazy eye”, is the term used to describe a type of reduced vision that develops in childhood. Amblyopia is relatively common, affecting approximately 2% of children. If treated while the visual system is still maturing amblyopia can usually be reversed and normal vision restored. In most cases amblyopia only affects one eye so even quite severe amblyopia may go unnoticed by parents or caregivers. Screening programmes have, therefore, been set up to test children’s vision, in each eye separately, in order to detect the condition while the child is young and treatment is still possible. This review was designed to examine the evidence to see if such screening programmes are effective in reducing the prevalence of untreated amblyopia. The review found that there is currently not enough evidence to determine whether or not screening programmes reduce the proportion of older children and adults with amblyopia. The authors concluded that there is, therefore, a need for some robust evaluation of the screening programmes that are in place to see if they are truly effective or not. Any such evaluation would have to also look at how much screening programmes cost and what effect untreated amblyopia has on quality of life.