Introduction: Strabismus is a common cause for amblyopia and affected children need regular ophthalmic care. This study evaluated the frequency of ophthalmic care in children suffering from strabismus and analyzed associated factors.
Methods: The data of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents from the Robert Koch Institute (KiGGS, baseline survey 2003-2006, N = 17,640) were analyzed. Details on the presence of strabismus and the frequency of ophthalmic care were documented from information provided by the parents. Children aged 1-6 years were included. The relationship between strabismus and ophthalmic care in the previous 12 months was analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analysis and adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic status, migration background, region and participation in regular pediatric check-ups.
Results: A total of 5247 children were included in this study of which 3.0% (N = 175) were reported by the parents as suffering from strabismus. Ophthalmic care within the last 12 months was reported by 66.9% of the parents (95% confidence interval [CI] 54.7-77.2%) of children with strabismus and was more frequent compared to those without strabismus (19.7%, 95% CI 18.2-21.3%). Of the children with strabismus 33.8% had visited an ophthalmologist in the last 12 months once, 33.1% twice, 12.6% three times, 13.3% four times and 7.2% more than four times. There was a relationship between strabismus (odds ratio [OR] = 9.21, 95% CI 5.44-15.6) and ophthalmic care during the preceding year.
Conclusion: In Germany approximately one third of children with strabismus did not receive ophthalmic care within the previous year. This underlines the need for improvements in ophthalmic care in children with strabismus.
Keywords: Amblyopia; Epidemiology; Ophthalmology; Ophthalmology appointment; Robert Koch Institute.