Risk factors associated to amblyopia in children: a case-control study

Amblyopia is one of the most common causes of preventable visual impairment in children. Identifying population-specific risk factors is essential to guide early screening and intervention strategies. Objective. To determine ocular and non-ocular risk factors associated with amblyopia in children. Material and methods. A retrospective case-control study was conducted using medical records of 62 children diagnosed with amblyopia and 186 age-matched controls (3—14 years old), between January 2019 and December 2020. Data on demographic, perinatal, and ocular characteristics were collected. Associations between potential risk factors and amblyopia were evaluated using chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses. Results. The mean age of amblyopic and control participants was comparable (8.32±3.43 vs. 8.01±3.54 years; p=0.54). Amblyopia was significantly associated with hyperopia (OR=3.99; 95% CI 1.14—13.27), astigmatism (OR=3.82; 95% CI 1.35—12.10), and strabismus (OR=2.47; 95% CI 1.34—4.44). The combination of hyperopia and astigmatism showed the strongest association (OR=4.06; 95% CI 2.21—7.30). No significant relationships were observed for prematurity (p=0.842) or socioeconomic status (p=0.587). Conclusions. Refractive errors and strabismus were the main amblyogenic factors identified in this pediatric population. These findings emphasize the importance of early vision screening and timely correction of refractive and alignment abnormalities to prevent amblyopia.