Variations in the prevalence of vision impairment across regions among school children in Telangana State, South India.

Autor: Prakash WD; Allen Foster Community Eye Health Research Centre, Gullapalli Pratibha Rao International Centre for Advancement of Rural Eye Care; Brien Holden Institute of Optometry and Vision Science, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, Telangana, India., Marmamula S; Allen Foster Community Eye Health Research Centre, Gullapalli Pratibha Rao International Centre for Advancement of Rural Eye Care; Brien Holden Institute of Optometry and Vision Science, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, Telangana, India., Mettla AL; Allen Foster Community Eye Health Research Centre, Gullapalli Pratibha Rao International Centre for Advancement of Rural Eye Care, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, Telangana, India., Keeffe J; Allen Foster Community Eye Health Research Centre, Gullapalli Pratibha Rao International Centre for Advancement of Rural Eye Care, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, Telangana, India., Khanna RC; Allen Foster Community Eye Health Research Centre, Gullapalli Pratibha Rao International Centre for Advancement of Rural Eye Care, L V Prasad Eye Institute; Brien Holden Eye Research Centre, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, Telangana, India; School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; University of Rochester, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Indian journal of ophthalmology [Indian J Ophthalmol] 2023 Oct; Vol. 71 (10), pp. 3322-3327.
DOI: 10.4103/IJO.IJO_215_23
Abstrakt: Purpose: Undetected vision impairment (VI) could negatively affect the overall development in children. School vision screening program is a viable and cost-effective approach for the early identification and management of VI.
Aim: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of VI, its risk factors, and ocular morbidity among school children in Telangana, South India.
Methods: Children aged 4-15 years attending schools in the study area were screened in this study. The vision screenings were performed in schools by trained community eye health workers using 6/12 tumbling E optotypes. Children who failed the test and/or presented with other eye conditions were referred to vision centers or secondary and tertiary eye care centers. A comprehensive eye examination was conducted in these centers, including cycloplegic refraction and fundus examination.
Results: A total of 774,184 children, with a mean age of 9.4 ± 3.27 years, were screened. Overall, 51.49% (N = 398,596) were male. In total, 4.33% [N = 33,528; 95% confidence interval (CI): 4.29-4.38] required referral services, while 1.16% (N = 9,002) had a presenting visual acuity of < 6/12. Multivariate analysis showed a high risk of VI among older children [Adj. odds ratio (OR): 5.75; 95% CI: 5.18-6.38], those with disabilities (Adj. OR: 5.12; 95% CI: 4.14-6.33), female gender (Adj. OR: 1.29; 95% CI: 1.24 - 1.35), and those residing in the urban areas (Adj. OR: 2.87; 95% CI: 2.42-3.39). The main cause of VI was uncorrected refractive errors (74.14%).
Conclusion: The prevalence of VI among school children was 1.16% in Telangana, South India, and refractive error was the leading cause of VI among this population. Increasing age, urban location, female gender and other disabilities increase the risk of VI among children.
Competing Interests: None
Databáze: MEDLINE
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