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MedPulse - International Medical Journal, ISSN 2348-2516 E-ISSN: 2348-1897

Volume 2, Issue 3, March 2015 pp 98-101

Research Article

Prevalence of refractive errors among school children in a rural setting

V R Ande¹, R K Peeta², M R Chella³, C Gujjarlapudi^4*

{¹Professor, ²Resident, ³Professor, Department of Ophthalmology} {⁴Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine}

Academic Editor : Dr. Bhanap P. L.

Introduction: Uncorrected refractive errors are a common problem in school aged children. The presence of refractive error in school going children affects their physical, mental and behavioral development as well. Inability to detect them at an early stage can adversely impact their learning and academic performance. Materials and Methods: A school based cross sectional study was conducted in 8 randomly selected government schools during November 2012 to August 2014. Children in the age group of 10 to 15 years studying from 5th to 10th standard were screened for refractive errors. Visual acuity for distance vision (6 metres) was tested with Snellen’s chart and near vision (33 cms) under day light illumination. Results: A total of 3174 school children in the age group of 10 to 15 years studying from 5th to 10th standard were screened. Among them 52.8% were males and 47.2% females. The total prevalence of refractive errors was found to be 6.49%. Myopia was found to be the most common pattern of refractive error among school children. The proportion of uncorrected refractive errors in the present study was 63.1%. Conclusion: The study concludes that most of the children were unaware of their problem contributing to a high prevalence of undetected refractive errors.