The results confirm that it is possible to increase quality of life by improving the lighting conditions.

ABSTRACT.Purpose: To report the occurrence of postoperative glaucoma and to evaluate risk factors. Methods: Children born in four of the western counties of Sweden who were diagnosed with congenital cataracts formed a cohort (nΩ137). The following parameters were evaluated: age at cataract surgery; type of surgery; visual outcome; postoperative IOP; optic disc abnormalities; date of onset of the complication; number of reoperations, including treatment for secondary cataract; presence of systemic anomalies; microphthalmus; and eye-related anomalies. Results: A diagnosis of glaucoma was recorded for 12% of the eyes. The mean follow-up time was 9.6 years. There is a relationship between surgery before the age of 10 days and development of glaucoma. Microphthalmus is an important risk factor as well. Conclusions: Despite modern surgical techniques the incidence of aphakic glaucoma is 10% or higher. No time-dependent increase in the incidence of lateonset glaucoma between the 1980s and the 1990s could be proven.

Forty-four children aged 2-9 years with strabismic and anisometropic amblyopia were prospectively followed up during amblyopia treatment. The efficacy ofoptimised treatment in terms of number of cured children, time to achieve cure, and rate of initial improvement ofvisual acuity was evaluated in relation to age at start of treatment, type and initial degree of amblyopia, and adherence to treatment regimen. Compliance with treatment was the most critical factor predicting a successful outcome. Among the compliant children 35 out of 36 were cured (visual acuity difference between amblyopic and non-amblyopic eyes not more than one line) within five months regardless of age, treatment regimen, and type or initial degree of amblyopia as compared with none in the group with low compliance. Most of these compliant children were cured within three months, with shorter treatment times on average for the younger children. The initial improvement of visual acuity was also faster at 2 years than at 4 years of age. Anisometropes with moderate amblyopia at the start of treatment were over-represented in the group with low compliance. We conclude that early diagnosis of strabismus in combination with general population screening at the age of 4 to detect amblyopia caused by anisometropia or microstrabismus seems to be efficacious for the cure of most cases. The major factor in treatment failure was found to be inadequate adherence to the treatment reginen.

ABSTRACT.Purpose: 1045 children between 12 and 13 years old were examined in a field study in the Göteborg area (Sweden). The aim of this study was to report the prevalence of refractive errors, with special attention to myopia, since there are no previous reports in Sweden about this age group. Methods: The examination included visual acuity testing and refraction under cycloplegia. Results: We found a prevalence of myopia (ت0.5D) of 49.7% and a prevalence of bilateral myopia of 39%. In the whole population, 23.3% were considered to need glasses (ت0.75D). We also found a prevalence of high myopia (ت5D) in 2.5% of the children. Discussion: No statistically significant difference in myopia with respect to gender was found. The proportion of children needing glasses is considered the best indicator of the prevalence of myopia in this sample. The results confirm that this tendency towards myopisation in a teenage population in Göteborg is similar to the prevalence found in other parts of the world.

ABSTRACT.Purpose: To establish the distribution of visual acuity and the prevalence of residual amblyopia and other ocular disorders in a vision-screened population group of 12-13-year-old children. Methods: In total 1046 children were examined in a field study in Sweden. The examination included visual acuity, stereopsis, cover testing, red reflex, refractive retinoscopy and examination of the posterior pole. In selected cases VEP was also performed. Results: Visual acuity Ø1.0 in at least one eye was present in 98% of cases. Residual amblyopia (AE0.5) was found in 1.1% of the population. Manifest strabismus was found in 2.7%. There were only a small number of ocular opacities and posterior pole abnormalities. Ocular albinism was found in 7 cases. In 15 children the cause of subnormal VA was unexplained. Conclusion: Results for visual acuity, residual amblyopia and other ocular disorders are very similar to previous Nordic, vision-screened populations.

The health-promotion programme seems to have slowed down the disablement process among elderly with decreased vision by enabling them to maintain their ADL level and by reducing self-reported health problems for at least 28 months following intervention.

Aimslbackground-In a previous study longitudinal changes of anisometropia were investigated. It was shown that anisometropia arises and vanishes during the emmetropisation process and that the associated risk for amblyopia is low. The aim of this study was to follow acuity and refraction longitudinally in children with marked anisometropia at 1 year of age. Methods-Refractive errors and visual acuity were estimated every sixth month for a selected group of 20 children with marked anisometropia .3.0 D (spherical equivalent) at 1 year of age from approximately 3 to 10 years of age. Results-The children could be classified into three groups. In six subjects the anisometropia increased (mean 1.4 D) and they all developed amblyopia. The remaining children could be classified into two groups of equal size. One group developed no amblyopia and the anisometropia decreased with a mean of 3.0 D. The seven remaining children developed amblyopia andlor strabismus; the mean anisometropia decrease was 1.2 D.Conclusion-Anisometropia at 1 year of age that is larger or equal to 3.0 D will in 90% ofthe cases still be there at 10 years of age. There is a substantial risk of this group developing amblyopia (60%). (BrJ Ophthalmol 1996;80:860- anisometropia is a secondary phenomenon6 [9][10][11] and that the causative relation between anisometropia and amblyopia must be reconsidered. In cases with convergent squint there is a common tendency to develop anisometropia after the onset of strabismus.69"The non-fixing eye ceases to emmetropise and subsequently the child develops anisometropia.Another important aspect of anisometropia as a cause for amblyopia is its transitory behaviour during childhood.'0-'3 Abrahamsson et al'0 longitudinally followed cases with anisometropia and showed that a substantial anisometropia (5 D) could vanish during growth and that children developed anisometropia as a part of the emmetropisation process. This anisometropia then vanished with time. In approximately 30% of the cases with anisometropia at 1 year of age the anisometropia was still present at 4 years of age. The studies were mostly concerned with cases with anisometropia less than 3 D. These data coincide with findings presented by Birch et al'4 who found that 25% of the children with anisometropia at 1.5 years were still anisometropic at 4 years. Almeder and coworkers" showed that all their cases had a reduction in anisometropia during subsequent visits and ended with a refractive error within normal limits.It can be stated that there is a relation between anisometropia and amblyopia although it is difficult to analyse the mechanism involved. It seems as if limited anisometropia can be common among young children without affecting their visual development. The aim of this study was to evaluate the natural history of marked anisometropia (>3.0 D). In an earlier study we examined the variability of anisometropia, where the anisometropia in most cases was between 1 and 3 D.'°In this study we concentrate on those cases with an anisometropia o...

Strabismus and amblyopia were studied in a cohort of children born in 1979 or 1980 in the area of Viisterias, Sweden. Forty percent of the children had participated in a voluntary eye examination at 1 year of age. All children diagnosed as strabismic and/or amblyopic between 1979 and 1988 at any of the three eye clinics in the area were included in this study. Strabismic cases were mostly detected by the parents while microstrabismus and straight eye amblyopia were found at the general 4 years of age screening at children's health centres. In 57 cases with (n=31) and without amblyopia (n=41) it was possible to obtain several refraction values between 1 and 6 years of age. In this study we concentrated on manifest esotropia and exotropia. The aim of the study was to describe changes of refraction before and after onset of strabismus