Prevalence of uncorrected refractive errors among children aged 3-10 years in western Saudi Arabia

Alrahili, Nojood Hameed R; Jadidy, Esraa; Alahmadi, Bayan Sulieman H; Abdulaal, Mohammed F.; Jadidy, Alaa S; Alhusaini, Abdulaziz A; Mojaddidi, Moaz; Albarry, Maan Abdullah

doi:10.15537/smj.2017.8.20412

Cited by 37 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…About 63 (30.74%) of the study population (205 children screened) were diagnosed of refractive error of (≥ ± 0.50D SE), but none of them had corrective glasses on and none had record of any previous eye screening. The prevalence of 30.74% refractive error seen in this study is similar to the result of a study conducted in Western Saudi Arabia among 3-10 years old children which reported a prevalence of 34.9% of uncorrected refractive error among this population (2). Also, this prevalence is comparable to what was reported in Imphal, Manipur India, where the prevalence of 29.14% refractive error among school children was also reported (8).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Prevalence of Refractive Error Among Early Primary School Age Children in Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area, Nigeria.

Ogbonna

2020

Preprint

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Introduction Refractive error is one of the major causes of blurred vision. It is a common eye disorder even in children. The World Health Organization had estimated refractive error to cause visual impairment to about 153 million people around the world with over 1.4 million children affected. Eighty percent (80%) of whom live in developing countries. The right to sight, a global initiative launched by World Health Organization, has the main aim of eliminating avoidable visual impairment and blindness at a global level. In order to achieve this goal, visual screening in pre-school and school children has long been a tradition in developed nations of the world. The significance of this cannot be overemphasized, especially with the already established correlation between school performance and visual status. However, in developing countries visual screening for children is not yet well established, thereby leaving many children with undetected refractive error, which could result in visual impairment. This study was aimed at evaluating the prevalence of refractive error among early primary school age children at Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area(LGA) in Ogun State, Nigeria. Methodology: The study was designed as a cross-sectional study. It employed a multi-staged sampling method to recruit 205 pupils aged 5-9 years attending schools in Ado-Odo Ota as study participants to determine the prevalence of refractive error among the pupils attending primary schools in this area. Following ocular pathology screening for the children, subjects found fit were refracted both objectively and subjectively using auto-refractor and trial lenses respectively. Result: A prevalence of 30.73% of refractive error was recorded. Myopia had the highest prevalence (24.88%), followed by astigmatism 3.42% and hyperopia with the least prevalence of 2.44%. Older children had higher frequencies of refractive error than the younger ones with the males having more refractive error than the females (19.51% and 11.22%) respectively. Conclusion: The study concluded that refractive error is significantly present among this population and recommended that parents should ensure that their children are screened for refractive error, and that government should introduce school health programs to curb the growing menace of visual impairment due to uncorrected refractive error.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Prevalence of Refractive Error Among Early Primary School Age Children in Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area, Nigeria.

Ogbonna

2020

Preprint

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“…Most studies define myopia as a SER less than or equal to − 0.5 D. Some studies use a criterion of SER less than − 0.5 D, or less than or equal to − 0.75 D. Myopia was also defined as a SER less than or equal to − 1.0 D in children aged 6 years. A SER greater than or equal to − 3.0 D in children aged 3-6 years was reported in one study [35]. The definition of myopia is of extreme importance, and even small changes in the threshold definition (±0.25D) have been shown to affect significantly the conclusions of epidemiological studies [76,77,78].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…2 (non-cycloplegic measurements). The prevalence ranged from 0.7% in Saudi Arabia (children aged 3 to 10 years) [35], 1.4% in South America (children aged 5-15 years) [28] to 65.5% in a cohort of 3rd year junior high school students (age 14-15 years; mean 15.25 ± 0.46 years) in the Haidian district of Beijing. The highest prevalence of myopia in schoolchildren was reported in East Asia and Singapore, urban areas of China, Taiwan and South Korea [39,40].…”

Section: Prevalence Of Myopia In School Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Female gender China [10,12,14,15] Colombia [37] India [17] Saudi Arabia [21,35] Low outdoor activity Australia [27] China [1,15] Netherlands [23] Parental myopia Australia (6-year-old cohort) [29] China [12,32,45] Finland [42] India [17] Japan [46] Increasing age Brazil [26] China [12,14,15] India [17] Poland [18,19] Saudi Arabia [21,35] Time spent on near work/studying Australia [29] China [12,32] India (over 5 h daily) [17] Taiwan [47] Higher socio-economic status India [17] Low family income Netherlands [23] Higher body mass index Japan [46] Netherlands [23] Use of LED lamps for homework (compared to incandescent or fluorescent lamps)…”

Section: Risk Factormentioning

confidence: 99%

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A review on the epidemiology of myopia in school children worldwide

Kanclerz²,

et al. 2020

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Background: Due to high prevalence myopia has gained importance in epidemiological studies. Children with early onset are at particular risk of complications associated with myopia, as progression over time might result in high myopia and myopic macular degeneration. Both genetic and environmental factors play a role in the increasing prevalence of myopia. The aim of this study is to review the current literature on epidemiology and risk factors for myopia in school children (aged 6-19 years) around the world. Main body: PubMed and Medline were searched for the following keywords: prevalence, incidence, myopia, refractive error, risk factors, children and visual impairment. English language articles published between were included in the study. Studies were critically reviewed for study methodology and robustness of data. Eighty studies were included in this literature review. Myopia prevalence remains higher in Asia (60%) compared with Europe (40%) using cycloplegic refraction examinations. Studies reporting on non-cycloplegic measurements show exceptionally high myopia prevalence rates in school children in East Asia (73%), and high rates in North America (42%). Low prevalence under 10% was described in African and South American children. In recent studies, risk factors for myopia in schoolchildren included low outdoor time and near work, dim light exposure, the use of LED lamps for homework, low sleeping hours, reading distance less than 25 cm and living in an urban environment. Conclusion: Low levels of outdoor activity and near work are well-established risk factors for myopia; this review provides evidence on additional environmental risk factors. New epidemiological studies should be carried out on implementation of public health strategies to tackle and avoid myopia. As the myopia prevalence rates in noncycloplegic studies are overestimated, we recommend considering only cycloplegic measurements.

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“…[2] Visual impairment in children also affects the parents or caregivers as the service needs of children with VI are high especially the concerns for their education and career support and these challenges are expressed as family stress. [3,4] Majority of the causes leading to VI in children are preventable or treatable and that is why many recent studies have highlighted the importance of preschool vision screening [5][6][7][8] or screening in school children [9][10][11][12] for early detection and prompt management of the problems related to abnormal vision in children. The prevalence of VI in children varies with geographical locations in the world and within countries, facility of eye care services and economic development of the country.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence and causes of visual impairment in Saudi children of Arar city

Parrey¹

2019

Ann Clin Anal Med

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Aim: In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence and main causes of visual impairment (VI) among Saudi children of Arar, the capital city of the Northern Border Region of Saudi Arabia. Material and Method: This population-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 410 Saudi children aged from 6 to 16 years. The examination included visual acuity (VA) testing, ocular motility evaluation, refraction, slit lamp, and fundus examinations. Results: A total of 410 Saudi children aged from 6 to 16 (9.8 ± 2.9 years) were enrolled in the current study; 195 (47.5%) were males and 215 (52.4%) were females. According to WHO classification, VI was diagnosed in 42 (10.2%) cases and 36 (8.7%) cases suffered unilateral diminution of visual acuity (UDoVA). Cases of VI were further classified depending on the severity of VI into mild VI in 34 (8.3%), low vision in 6 (1.4%) and blindness in 2 (0.04%) children. Visual impairment was more common in children aged ≤ 10 years. Refractive error was the most common eye morbidity diagnosed in 167 (40.7%) children of the studied population followed by strabismus in 28 cases (6.8%), then amblyopia in 10 cases (2.4%). Discussion: Visual impairment (VI) in children can have a significant impact on the quality of their life including their performance at school and future employment opportunities. Visual impairment among Saudi children in Arar city is highly prevalent. The leading causes are refractive errors, strabismus and amblyopia. Strategies focused on screening, timely diagnosis and treatment of these causes should help to reduce the burden of childhood VI.

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Prevalence of uncorrected refractive errors among children aged 3-10 years in western Saudi Arabia

Cited by 37 publications

References 21 publications

Prevalence of Refractive Error Among Early Primary School Age Children in Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area, Nigeria.

Prevalence of Refractive Error Among Early Primary School Age Children in Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area, Nigeria.

A review on the epidemiology of myopia in school children worldwide

Prevalence and causes of visual impairment in Saudi children of Arar city

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