The amblyopic schoolgirl syndrome.

The occurrence of psychogenic amblyopia in a population of school children was studied. From the population of 14,000 school children under the surveillance of school nurses and doctors, 2280 were referred to the author for an ophthalmological examination during a two-year period. Forty children (1.75%) were diagnosed as having psychogenic amblyopia corresponding to an incidence of 1.4/1000/year. Psychogenic amblyopia was characterized by a high percentage of girls (48 out of 52) and the highest occurrence at the age of 9 to 11 years. There was a wide variation of the duration of the condition, but 37% of the patients recovered within one year. A psychological cause for amblyopia could be revealed in only a few cases. According to the present study psychogenic amblyopia can occur at a relatively high incidence. Awareness of this condition could spare these children from straining, expensive tests.