Should amblyopia be treated?

Eye care in young children: a parent survey exploring access and barriers

“…There is some debate as to the need to treat amblyopia; however, it has been argued that untreated amblyopia may impact on the education and behaviour of a child and have long‐term negative visual consequences . There is some evidence that uncorrected childhood vision defects almost double the risk of lifetime bilateral visual impairment .…”

A comparison of pre-school versus school-age orthoptic screening programmes in the North-East of England

“…[14][15][16] It remains unclear whether vision screening during childhood reduces the prevalence of amblyopia in the adult population 17 and the impact of living with untreated amblyopia has yet to be fully quantified. Studies have found no difference in occupational class, educational attainment, employment or general and mental health between those with amblyopia and those without it.…”

Amblyopia, deprivation and health disparities research: challenges in 2020

“…The burden and unmet needs of amblyopia can be considered at the level of the individual or the population. When testing the individual, amblyopia is usually identified by reduced high-contrast visual acuity but contrast sensitivity, fixation stability, reading speed, and fine-motor coordination are also affected [5]. There are subtle, measurable impacts upon fellow-eye vision such as identification of a shape by motion, known as motion-defined form [6].…”

“…Models extrapolating from utility values of acquired visual loss suggest 0.8 QALYs lost over a lifetime [11]. It has been argued that this is an over-estimate because developmental (rather than acquired) visual impact is less impactful [5]. Nonetheless, time-trade-off studies interviewing adults who have experienced amblyopia (and treatment) have produced a similar value of 0.9 QALYs over a lifetime [12].…”