Lazy eye, a childhood condition where vision does not develop properly, is more widespread among young men who grew up in ultra-Orthodox settings compared to those raised in secular communities, new findings have revealed in the largest population-based study to evaluate the prevalence of lazy eye among teens.
A joint team of researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and doctors from the IDF and Hadassah-University Medical Center tracked lazy eye among 1.5 million Israeli teens and discovered several elements were found to increase the chances of the issue, including lower socioeconomic class and scoring lower on cognitive function exams. Their findings were published Monday in the European Journal of Public Health.
Between 1% to 5% of children are born with lazy eye globally, which happens because one or both eyes are unable to connect with the brain. Typically, the condition affects one eye, and means that the child can see less clearly out of the impacted eye and relies more on the "good" eye. Lazy eye can be treated if diagnosed early, but if not dealt with by age seven, it can cause permanent visual damage.
Researchers looked at medical records and socioeconomic data of Israelis aged 16.5-18 years between 1993-2017, all of whom were potential IDF recruits. When determining whether Israelis are eligible for military service, they must undergo health checks which include an eye exam, as well as information regarding their socioeconomic status, family history and test scores.
The researchers found that in addition to a double prevalence of lazy eye in ultra-Orthodox males, there was a higher rate of the condition among teens born abroad compared to those born in Israel. Specifically, immigrants born in the former Soviet Union, North Africa and Ethiopia had a higher incidence of lazy eye, compared to teenage immigrants from other countries.
Once a child reaches their teenage years, it is too late to correct the condition, researchers said, noting that socioeconomic factors prevent parents from taking their children for vision screening or their ability to keep up with a treatment plan.
“We’d like to see changes to Israel’s public health policy, specifically to increase allocations for vision screening and treatment compliance monitoring for those populations vulnerable to developing lazy eye,” said Dr. Claudia Yahalom, one of the researchers from Hadassah’s Department of Ophthalmology.