Ocular morbidity among school aged children in Indian scenario

Abstract

Background: Vision is the most important special sense in human being. Normal vision is essential for normal physical, mental, psychological development and education. About 30% of blind population of India lose their eyesight before the age of 20 years and many of them are under 5 when they become blind. Methods: The present study is a cross sectional study of children aged 6 to 15 years from Schools in the rural area within 30 kilometers surrounding Khammam, India during september 2012 to March 2014. Results: Conjunctival abnormalities had the highest prevalence rate (4.36%) followed by Refractive errors (2.04%), Lid Abnormalities (1.35%), Corneal Abnormalities (1.02%), Squint (0.70%), Posterior segment abnormalities (0.51%), Amblyopia (0.32%), Colour vision abnormalities (0.28%) and lens abnormalities (0.23%). Conclusion: Our study is one of the few studies to be conducted in this rural setup. This Study gives us benchmark data for comparing future studies in Khammam district and also helps in providing valuable information for proper planning and conduction of future school based health programs.