Study Characterizes Adult Strabismus Demographics

There are several subtypes of strabismus, according to SNOMED classification. These include heterotropia, manifest vertical strabismus, phoria, paralytic strabismus, dissociated gaze palsy, mechanical strabismus, congenital strabismus and strabismus in neuromuscular disorders. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.  Click image to enlarge. Though several studies have characterized strabismus in children, adult-diagnosed strabismus in the United States remains understudied, particularly with regard to subtypes beyond exotropia and esotropia. Experts point out that there’s no consensus yet on how age, sex and race affect strabismus prevalence in adults.To identify the prevalence of these demographic features, a UC San Diego group turned to the All of Us database, an NIH resource devoted to collecting and storing data from diverse groups of voluntary adult participants.The researchers collected age, sex and race data from more than 400,000 individuals in the database and performed statistical analyses to identify significant differences in distributions of age, sex and race in 3,734 strabismus patients versus the overall database. Their findings revealed significant differences in all three categories, with higher proportions of male patients and individuals over 65 with strabismus compared to the overall database.Racial distribution was also significantly different. The researchers’ analyses showed a significantly lower proportion of Asian individuals among those with strabismus or heterotropia; a lower proportion of Black individuals with most strabismus subtypes; and a higher proportion of white individuals among those with any type of strabismus.The researchers concluded that their “findings may reflect differences in prevalence, disparities in access to care, or a combination of these factors.”Click here for the journal source. Lieu AC, Walker EH, Robbins SL, et al. Epidemiology of strabismus among adults in the United States: insights from the All of Us database. JAAPOS 2025. [Epub ahead of print.] This article was developed by the editorial staff in conjunction with experts in the field. In the process, AI may have been among the editorial tools used to meet the goals of human editors, who approved all content.