Visual acuity in Danish school children.

The medical records of 8769 school children attending the 2nd-5th grades in the Municipality of Odense have been scrutinized with regard to visual acuity. 1216 children were subject to examination, of these 1034 were found to have reduced vision due to anomalies of refraction other causes. Bilateral reduction in vision of less than or equal to 6/18 was observed in 8 children corresponding to 0.09%. Unilateral reduction in sight of less than or equal to 6/12 (employed here as the definition of amblyopia) was seen in 1.07% of the children. This applied to 1.39% of the boys and 0.73% of the girls; the difference is statistically significant. The lower frequency of amblyopia as compared to earlier investigations is probably a consequence of better vision screening during preschool age.