Causes of Reduced Vision in Australian Children.

The overall prevalence of reduced vision based on unaided visual acuity increased with age from 4.5% in Sydney Paediatric Eye Disease Study 3-5 year olds to 17.7% in SAVES 17 year olds (p < 0.001).

The proportion of reduced vision caused by refractive error, amblyopia, strabismus and pathology also varied between cohorts.

In the younger cohorts, amblyopia accounted for 21% of Sydney Paediatric Eye Disease Study 3-5 year olds and 28% of Sydney Myopia Study 6 year olds with reduced vision.

There was a substantial decline in the proportion of reduced vision attributed to amblyopia in the older cohorts, while refractive error increased.