Prevalence and risk factors for refractive errors among the university students of Iran

Abstract

Purpose To determine the prevalence and risk factors of refractive errors in Iranian university students. Methods In a randomized study, of 424 selected students from the six schools of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (MUMS), 406 of them participated in the study (response rate: 95.7%). Refractive errors were corrected using auto refraction checked by retinoscopy and subjective refraction. Myopia defined as spherical equivalent (SE) refraction ‐0.50 dioptre (D) or worse, hyperopia as SE of +0.50D or more, and astigmatism as cylinder –1.0D or worse. Results The prevalence of myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism were 38.4%, 13.8% and 12.8% among the university students respectively. The prevalence of spherical refractive errors were different in males and females (P=0.038). Conclusion The results of this study indicated that nearly two‐third of the university students have refractive errors. Myopia appears to be more common among highly educated persons and unversity students are at high risk for it.