Prevalence of myopia in school children in the Sultanate of Oman: A nation-wide study of 6292 randomly selected children

Abstract

Purpose: Between 1992 to 1994 in the Sultanate of Oman, 6292 randomly selected school children from Grade 1 (6-year-olds) and Grade 6 (12-year-olds) were examined for visual acuity. The purpose of this paper is to present results that relate to the prevalence of myopia in this population. Methods: All children with uncorrected visual acuity below 0.5 in one or both eyes received a thorough eye examination including cycloplegic retinoscopy. Results: In the 6-year-olds there was an overall myopia (≥ -1.0 D) of 0.56% and in the 12-year-olds there was 5.16%. In rural, remote areas there was statistically significantly less myopia in the older group when compared with the rest of the country. In the town of Nizwa in the region of Dakhlia, the value for high myopia (≥ -7.0 diopters) in 12-year-old girls was 2.82% compared to an average prevalence 0.13%. Conclusion: In the Sultanate of Oman the prevalence of myopia showed consistency with findings in Europe and North America. There was significantly less myopia in remote areas. An increased prevalence of high myopia was seen in one of Oman's major cities.