Prevalence of refractive error and attitude to spectacle use among drivers of public institutions in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: High rate of motor vehicle accidents have been associated with poor vision. Studies on drivers from elsewhere other than health institutions have found abnormal visual acuities. The aim of this study is to determine prevalence of refractive errors and the attitude to spectacle wear among drivers of public institutions studied. Methods: A cross sectional population study of all 99 motor vehicle drivers from the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan and University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan between December 2003 and January 2004. Results: The ninety-nine motor vehicle drivers in the study comprised of 67 (67.7%) from the College of Medicine, and 32 (32.3%) from the UCH. All were males, aged 38 to 60 years, mean 50.1 + (SD= 4.8 years). Proportion of drivers with refractive errors was 16.7% (95% CI, 16.6-16.8) but only 56.3% of these wear glasses while driving (others did not including 3 out 4 who were bilaterally visually impaired without glasses). Relative frequency of RTA among drivers was 16.2%, the risk was marginally higher among drivers with refractive error (OR 1.2, 95% CI: 0.4-3.7). The commonest refractive error was simple hypermetropia present in 15 eyes. Hypermetropia was associated with increasing age of drivers (p<0.05). Majority (97.7%) of the drivers were presbyopic but only 32 (32.3%) were current wearers of spectacles. Conclusion:Refractive errors were present in 16.7% of drivers studied. But 43.8% of these (3 out 4 of whom were bilaterally visually impaired without glasses) do not wear corrective lenses while driving. There is need for periodic visual screening exercise and eye health education on drivers.Key words: Hypermetropia, astigmatism, drivers, refractive error Résumé Introduction: Taux élevé des accidents de la circulation routière est associé à une mauvaise vision. Des études sur les chauffeurs ailleurs en déhors des centres hospitaliers ont indiqué des acuités visuelles anormales. L'objet de cette étude est de décider la fréquence d'erreurs de réfraction et le comportement par rapport à l'utilisation des lunettes parmi des chauffeurs dans des institutions publiques. Résultats: Quatre-vingt dix-neuf chauffeurs des vehicles dans cette étude à savoir, 67 soit 67,7% de Collège de la médicine, et 32 soit 32,3% de CHU. Tous étaient du sexe masculin , âgés de 38 au 60 ans, moyen 50,1 +-(SD = 4,8 ans) La proportion des chauffeurs avec erreurs de réfraction était 16,7% soit 95% cl, 16,6 -16,8) mais seulement 56,3% de ceux qui portent des lunettes pendant qu'il conduissent (les autres ne le fait pas y compris 3 sur 4 qui sont bilatéralement des personnes qui ont des problèmes de vue sans des lunettes) fréquence rélative de ACR parmi des chauffeurs était 16,2%. Le danger est presque plus élevé parmi des chauffeurs avec des erreurs de réfraction (OR 1,2,95% cl ; 0,7). L'erreur de réfraction le plus ordinaire était tout simplement l'hypermétropie qui est present dans 15 yeux. L'ypermétropie était associeé à l'augmentation de l'âge des chauffeurs (P <0,05) La majorité soit ...

Epidemiology of road traffic crashes among long distance drivers in Ibadan, Nigeria

“…Secondary school education was the highest level of education attained by 38.0% of the respondents in this study. This differs from findings by authors that have carried out similar work 8,10 . Similar to our study, Bamisoa et al reported high prevalence (35.7%) of alcohol use among long distance drivers in Ilorin, Nigeria 9 .…”

“…The one year prevalence of RTCs (15.9%) in this study was higher when compared to the five year prevalence reported among drivers of a tertiary institution (11.1%) and a teaching hospital (4.0%) in a previous study in Ibadan 8 . This marked disparity can be attributed to the differences in study population.…”

“…Epidemiological research has tended to focus on human risk factors because they are relevant to the search for preventive measures, and because they have been identified as the most frequent cause of crashes distance journeys are a major contributor to RTCs incidents in Nigeria, and their impact on RTCs and economic losses are high 6 . Previous studies in Ibadan, south western Nigeria, had shown increase in RTC involvement among commercial intra-city and private drivers and had associated it with their behaviour 7,8 , but few have focused on the distribution and determinants of RTCs among long distance drivers in this part of the country. This gap, the study intends to fill by exploring the conditions that made the long-distance drivers prone to RTCs.…”

The Prevalence of Refractive Error and Color Blindness in Truck Drivers

“…The commonest visual problem in drivers in our study was presbyopia(52.85%). Similar results were shown in a study in Nigeria [11] in which presbyopia was detected in 50.8% whereas 97.7% drivers were shown to have presbyopia by Bekibele et al [12] . Moreover, less than satisfactory presenting(functional) binocular visual acuity (<6/18) was found in 13(9.28%) of the drivers in our study.The commonest refractive error in our study was hypermetropia present in 12 drivers (50%) followed by myopia in 9 drivers (37.5%) and then astigmatism in 3 drivers(12.5%).…”

“…The percentage of truck drivers with refractive errors as obtained from our study was 17.14%.On contrary to this, percentage of truck drivers with refractive errors from similar studies carried out by Rajendra PJ et al [9] was 28.57%, 18.1% in Nigeria [10] and 19.3% [11]. Another study by Bekibele et al [12] and Erdogan H et al [13] has shown 16.7% and 21.5% drivers having refractive errors. The commonest visual problem in drivers in our study was presbyopia(52.85%).…”