Childhood amblyopia and, the effect on quality of life: a scoping review

Abstract

Background: Amblyopia, often known as lazy eye, is a vision problem brought on by the eye and brain not functioning properly. It causes a seemingly normal eye to have impaired vision. It is the most typical reason for reduced vision in one eye in children and younger people. It is a common condition, and it can affect up to 3-4% of the general population. Early intervention is necessary for infants with amblyopia to prevent permanent visual loss and reduce other potential quality of life issues such as poor educational outcomes.

Methodology: A scoping review was conducted on, relevant articles, searched between 2011 to October 2022 to examine how childhood amblyopia affects the quality of life. The pertinent studies were found based on the stated inclusion and exclusion criteria. I systematically reviewed databases from PMC (US National library of medicine national institutes of health), BMC Health Services Research, Ophthalmology Journal of Biomedical Science and Technology and also from Ophthalmic Epidemiology. The first author, year, and study objectives were the data extracted from pertinent studies. Thematic analysis and tables were used to map out data derived from published works of literature.

Results: The review contained a total of 11 papers. There are 11 quality-of-life issues related to amblyopia found in the studies. Even though Amblyopia normally affects only one eye, it may impair reading speed in normal binocular reading by 20% to 50% and significantly influence educational achievement in children. The effects of amblyopia on HRQoL were specifically connected to how the condition was treated. These include effects on relationships with family members, social interactions, challenges completing everyday tasks, and feelings and behaviour. Some researchers created their own HRQoL measures, whereas others used proxy measures to calculate HRQoL.

Conclusion: This scoping review identifies that childhood Amblyopia can have significant impact on quality of life. When thinking about managing amblyopia, it's important to consider the documented findings of the HRQoL implications. The difficulties noted in the review are explored regarding how HRQoL is measured (treatment compliance vs. proxy measures) and whether HRQoL is viewed from a child's or a parent's perspective.