ArticleDeutsches Arzteblatt international2015
The prevalence of amblyopia in Germany: data from the prospective, population-based Gutenberg Health Study.
Article in Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 60 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review: Virtual-reality-based techniques for human exercises and health improvement.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- [Amblyopia. Epidemiology, causes and risk factors].Der Ophthalmologe : Zeitschrift der Deutschen Ophthalmologischen Gesellschaft · 2016Pooled it
- Focal ambient visual acuity stimulation improves vision in amblyopic children with stagnating BCVA-A retrospective study.Acta ophthalmologica · 2026Article
- Amblyopia and strabismus: Psychosocial characteristics - results from the Gutenberg Health Study (GHS).Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2026Article
- Trends in visual impairment among Austrian conscripts (1965-2003) after screening introduction : A retrospective, descriptive study.Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2026Article
- Prevalence of strabismus, nystagmus and risk factors in children and adolescents born preterm with and without retinopathy of prematurity: results from the Gutenberg Prematurity Study Young.The British journal of ophthalmology · 2026Article
- The Changing Natural History of Anisometropia: A Scoping Review.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2026Article
- Visual acuity, amblyopia and refractive error in preterm children with and without retinopathy of prematurity - Results from the Gutenberg Prematurity Study Young (GPSY).Acta ophthalmologica · 2025Observational
- Imprint of preterm birth with very low birth weight on optic disc OCT in adulthood-A two-country birth cohort study.Acta ophthalmologica · 2025Article
- Estimating the Prevalence and Severity of Isolated Small-Angle Strabismic Amblyopia.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Article
- Prevalence of strabismus and risk factors in adults born preterm with and without retinopathy of prematurity: results from the Gutenberg Prematurity Eye study.The British journal of ophthalmology · 2024Article
- Development and validation of a questionnaire for assessing parents' health literacy regarding vision screening for children: a Delphi study.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- [Ophthalmic care of adults born preterm and full-term-results from the Gutenberg Prematurity Eye Study (GPES) : Premature birth and ophthalmological care].Die Ophthalmologie · 2023Article
- Visual acuity, amblyopia, and vision-related quality of life in preterm adults with and without ROP: results from the Gutenberg prematurity eye study.Eye (London, England) · 2023Article
- Gamification to Support Adherence to a Therapeutic Ambylopia Treatment for Children: Retrospective Study Using a Focal Ambient Visual Acuity Stimulation Game.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2023Article
- Monitoring of wearing and occlusion times with smart shutter glasses-A proof of concept.PloS one · 2022Article
- Analysis of Optic Nerve in Adults With Amblyopia Using OCTA.Frontiers in medicine · 2022Article
- [Visual acuity in German preschool children-results of a cross-sectional study].Der Ophthalmologe : Zeitschrift der Deutschen Ophthalmologischen Gesellschaft · 2021Article
- Context-sensitive smart glasses monitoring wear position and activity for therapy compliance-A proof of concept.PloS one · 2021Article
- Prevalence and Associated Factors of Amblyopia Among School Age Children at Bahir Dar City, Northwest Ethiopia: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study.Clinical optometry · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAmblyopia is due to insufficient development of the visual system in early childhood and is a major source of lifelong impairment of visual acuity. Too little is known about the prevalence of amblyopia in Germany and the frequency of its various causes.
methodsThe Gutenberg Health Study of the University of Mainz Faculty of Medicine is an ongoing population-based, prospective, monocentric cohort study with 15 010 participants aged 35 to 74. All participants are examined for the presence of ocular, cardiovascular, neoplastic, metabolic, immunologic, and mental diseases. 3227 participants aged 35 to 44 underwent ophthalmological examination from 2007 to 2012. Amblyopia was defined as impaired visual acuity in the absence of any organic pathology capable of explaining the condition, and in the presence of a known risk factor for amblyopia.
resultsAmblyopia, when defined as a visual acuity less than or equal to 0.63, was present in 182 participants (5.6%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.9-6.5%), 120 of whom had a visual acuity less than or equal to 0.5 (3.7%, 95% CI 3.3-5.2%). A narrower definition of amblyopia requiring, in addition, an interocular difference in acuity of at least two lines yielded slightly lower prevalence figures: 5.0% (95% CI 4.2-5.8%) and 3.7% (95% CI 3.1-4.4%), respectively. The causes of amblyopia (visual acuity ≤ 0.63) were anisometropia (different refractive strengths of the two eyes) in 49% of participants, strabismus (a squint) in 23%, both of these factors in 17%, and visual deprivation in 2%. 3 patients (2%) had relative amblyopia due to a traumatic cataract sustained in early childhood. 7% of the participants with amblyopia had binocular amblyopia.
conclusionThis study yielded a prevalence figure of 5.6% for amblyopia in Germany-a higher figure than in other, comparable population-based studies, which have generally yielded figures of ca. 3% for visual acuity ≤ 0.63. The distribution of the causes of amblyopia is similar across studies.
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