[ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND AMBLYOPIA TREATMENT SUCCESS RATES - EXPERIENCE OF A TERTIARY CENTER IN ISRAEL].

Abstract

Introduction: Amblyopia is a common cause of visual impairment in children. There is circumstantial evidence for the correlation between living in impoverished areas and treatment failure. However, no large study directly assessed this correlation.

Aims: To check the correlation between socioeconomic status and amblyopia treatment success rates, in children 3-18 years old.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study, review of the electronic medical records of patients treated for amblyopia in a tertiary center during a period of 24 years.

Results: A total of 102 participants were enrolled in the study, of whom 50 came from impoverished areas and were the study group. The study and control group participants had similar distribution of age, sex and baseline clinical data. Study group participants had significantly lower baseline visual acuity. The mean follow-up time was 34 months. Both groups had a significant improvement in visual acuity and a significant decline in severe amblyopia proportion. Final visual acuity, visual improvement and amblyopia severity were similar in both groups. The proportion of successful treatments was similar in both groups.

Discussion: Although participants from impoverished areas began follow-up with significantly lower visual acuity, their vision has improved during follow-up and was similar to final visual acuity of the control group. Amblyopia treatment has eliminated the gap in visual acuity between amblyopic patients from impoverished areas and amblyopic patients in the general population. Conclusion: Given good treatment compliance, social disparities were not significant determinants of amblyopia treatment success.