Last update:
   07-Jul-2004
 

Arch Hellen Med, 20(3), May-June 2003, 276-280

ORIGINAL PAPER

Determinants of strabismus frequency

C. VLACHOU,1 K. MELLOU,2 K. TSARAS,2 L. SPAROS2
1Department of Ophthalmology, “P. and A. Kyriakou” Children’s Hospital, Athens
2Laboratory of Clinical Epidemiology, School of Nursing, University of Athens, Athens, Greece

OBJECTIVE The investigation of the potential correlation of the incidence of strabismus with certain individual characteristics.

METHOD Ninety eight children aged from six months to eighteen years were studied. Sixty two of these (38 girls and 24 boys) suffered from strabismus, while the comparison group consisted of 36 children (17 girls and 19 boys) who did not suffer from strabismus. Data was collected by interviewing parents and recorded in a special epidemiological questionnaire.

RESULTS Twenty three probable risk factors of strabismus were studied in a model of univariate analysis. The analysis showed a statistically significant correlation of the frequency of strabismus with the familial occurrence in the mother’s family (P=0.017), with birth weight (P=0.057), with the age of the child at examination (P=0.006) and with the age of the father at the time of conception (P=0.080). Multivariate analysis showed a statistically significant positive correlation of the frequency of strabismus with familial occurrence in the mother’s family (P=0.0256) and a statistically significant negative correlation with the child’s age at the time of the examination (P=0.007).

CONCLUSIONS The frequency of strabismus was correlated with familial occurrence in the mother’s family and with the age of the child at the time of the examination.

Key words: Epidemiology, Esotropia, Exotropia, Familial occurrence, Risk factors.

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