Ophthalmologic screening of children of public schools in Belo Horizonte/MG: An overview about the visual impairment in children

Abstract

Objectives: To describe and analyze the prevalence of visual impairment and its causes in public school students in Belo Horizonte/MG (Brazil). Methods: Cross-sectional study of 1452 public school children from 5 to 19 years old, in Belo Horizonte/MG (Brazil), screened and evaluated between 2011 and 2014. Results: Of the total sample, 150 patients (10,33%) had low visual acuity at the screening, and were referred to an ophthalmologist to further examination. Forty (26%) of the referred patients presented at the ambulatory, where 29 (72,5%) of these showed indication of visual correction. Simple and compound myopic astigmatism were the most frequent diagnoses associated with prescription glasses. Conclusion: The study showed that the prevalence of visual impairment in this population were consistent with other similar programs. By contrast, the abstention rate was much higher than the expectation, showing the importance of preventive and informative actions about the eye health care.