Profile of refractive errors and amblyopia in 5-15 yrs of school going children at a Union territory tertiary health centre

Abstract

Background: Poor vision in childhood affects performance in school and has a significant impact on future life of child in terms of education and development. Current study aims at detecting the magnitude and patterns of refractive errors with amblyopia screening so that effective measures can be planned at the right time to minimize the burden.Methods: Hospital based cross sectional study conducted on 200 children between 5-15 years attending the ophthalmology OPD of a tertiary health care centre, Puducherry. Interpretation and data analysis were done by SPSS software version 13.0.Results: Mean age of presentation was 9 years. Female to male ratio in the present study was 1.3:1. Positive family history was noted among 48 children suggesting strong impact of genetic factor in refractive errors. Among 20 children who were already on spectacle correction, the most common refractive error was compound myopic astigmatism. Among 30 children who were diagnosed with amblyopia, 8 children below 8 years of age had improved vision on 1 month follow up of post treatment with spectacles and occlusion therapy and 22 children did not show improvement suggesting amblyopia can be corrected if intervention was instituted before the age of 8 years.Conclusions:Refractive errors with or without amblyopia is a significant cause of childhood visual impairment. Though it is a hospital-based study, the results were in consistent with previously published hospital and population based study. This study also expected to serve as a tool for primary health care physicians to have an overview of magnitude and patterns of refractive errors in children presenting to hospital since refractive error is a significant public health problem worldwide.Background: Poor vision in childhood affects performance in school and has a significant impact on future life of child in terms of education and development. Current study aims at detecting the magnitude and patterns of refractive errors with amblyopia screening so that effective measures can be planned at the right time to minimize the burden.Methods: Hospital based cross sectional study conducted on 200 children between 5-15 years attending the ophthalmology OPD of a tertiary health care centre, Puducherry. Interpretation and data analysis were done by SPSS software version 13.0.Results: Mean age of presentation was 9 years. Female to male ratio in the present study was 1.3:1. Positive family history was noted among 48 children suggesting strong impact of genetic factor in refractive errors. Among 20 children who were already on spectacle correction, the most common refractive error was compound myopic astigmatism. Among 30 children who were diagnosed with amblyopia, 8 children below 8 years of age had improved vision on 1 month follow up of post treatment with spectacles and occlusion therapy and 22 children did not show improvement suggesting amblyopia can be corrected if intervention was instituted before the age of 8 years.Conclusions: Refractive errors with or without amblyopia is a significant cause of childhood visual impairment. Though it is a hospital-based study, the results were in consistent with previously published hospital and population based study. This study also expected to serve as a tool for primary health care physicians to have an overview of magnitude and patterns of refractive errors in children presenting to hospital since refractive error is a significant public health problem worldwide.