Refractive Error and Visual Impairment Among School Children: Result of a South-Eastern Nigerian Regional Survey
| Autor: | E. N. Onwasigwe, OI Okoye, Ada Aghaji, Ngozi C Oguego, Obiekwe Okoye, N. N. Udeh, Chiamaka Aneji, R. E. Umeh, IR Ezegwui, F C Maduka-Okafor, E A Nwobi |
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| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
medicine.medical_specialty
Refractive error Visual acuity Visual impairment prevalence visual impairment Nigeria Uncorrected visual acuity Audiology 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Ophthalmology Medicine refractive error Original Research business.industry school children Outcome measures Clinical Ophthalmology medicine.disease 030221 ophthalmology & optometry Cluster sampling medicine.symptom business 030217 neurology & neurosurgery South eastern |
| Zdroj: | Clinical Ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) |
| ISSN: | 1177-5467 |
| Popis: | Ferdinand C Maduka-Okafor,1 Obiekwe Okoye,1 Ifeoma Ezegwui,1 Ngozi C Oguego,1 Onochie I Okoye,1 Nnenma Udeh,1 Ada E Aghaji,1 Emmanuel Nwobi,2 Chiamaka Aneji,3 Ernest Onwasigwe,1 Rich E Umeh1 1Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Ituku, Enugu, Nigeria; 2Department of Community, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Ituku, Enugu, Nigeria; 3Division of Neonatal Perinatal Medicine, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USACorrespondence: Obiekwe OkoyeDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Ituku, Ozalla, Enugu, NigeriaEmail eagleobi@yahoo.comPurpose: To determine the prevalence refractive errors and causes of visual impairment in school children in the south-eastern region of Nigeria.Methods: School-based cross-sectional samples of children 5 to 15 of age in both urban and rural areas were profiled through cluster sampling. The main outcome measures were presenting, uncorrected, and best-corrected visual acuity using the Refractive Error in School-age Children (RESC) protocol.Results: A total of 5723 children were examined during the study period comprising 2686 (46.9%) males and 3037 (53.1%) females; (M:F ratio 0.9:1) and aged 10.49± 2.74SD of mean (range, 5 to 15 years). The age group 12 to < 13 accounted for the highest 776 (13.6%) number of the study participants. The uncorrected visual acuity (VA) of < 20/40 (6/12) was seen in 188 (3.4%) of the study participants while the presenting and best-corrected visual acuity of < 20/40 (6/12) were noted in 182 (3.4%) children and 14 (0.2%) children, respectively. Refractive error was the principal cause of visual impairment.Conclusion: Prevalence of refractive error is low. Myopia is the principal cause of refractive error occurring more in females and in urban schools. The main cause of visual impairment is refractive error, and most children that need spectacle correction did not have them. Program to identify children with refractive error in addition to providing free or affordable optical services remains the key to preventing visual impairment from refractive error particularly in resource-poor settings.Keywords: refractive error, school children, prevalence, visual impairment, Nigeria |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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