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Variations in the prevalence of vision impairment across regions among school children in Telangana State, South India

PURPOSE: Undetected vision impairment (VI) could negatively affect the overall development in children. School vision screening program is a viable and cost-effective approach for the early identification and management of VI. AIM: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of VI, its risk factors,...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Prakash, Winston D, Marmamula, Srinivas, Mettla, Asha Latha, Keeffe, Jill, Khanna, Rohit C
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Wolters Kluwer - Medknow 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10683682/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37787229
http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/IJO.IJO_215_23
Descripción
Sumario:PURPOSE: Undetected vision impairment (VI) could negatively affect the overall development in children. School vision screening program is a viable and cost-effective approach for the early identification and management of VI. AIM: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of VI, its risk factors, and ocular morbidity among school children in Telangana, South India. METHODS: Children aged 4–15 years attending schools in the study area were screened in this study. The vision screenings were performed in schools by trained community eye health workers using 6/12 tumbling E optotypes. Children who failed the test and/or presented with other eye conditions were referred to vision centers or secondary and tertiary eye care centers. A comprehensive eye examination was conducted in these centers, including cycloplegic refraction and fundus examination. RESULTS: A total of 774,184 children, with a mean age of 9.4 ± 3.27 years, were screened. Overall, 51.49% (N = 398,596) were male. In total, 4.33% [N = 33,528; 95% confidence interval (CI): 4.29–4.38] required referral services, while 1.16% (N = 9,002) had a presenting visual acuity of < 6/12. Multivariate analysis showed a high risk of VI among older children [Adj. odds ratio (OR): 5.75; 95% CI: 5.18–6.38], those with disabilities (Adj. OR: 5.12; 95% CI: 4.14–6.33), female gender (Adj. OR: 1.29; 95% CI: 1.24 - 1.35), and those residing in the urban areas (Adj. OR: 2.87; 95% CI: 2.42–3.39). The main cause of VI was uncorrected refractive errors (74.14%). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of VI among school children was 1.16% in Telangana, South India, and refractive error was the leading cause of VI among this population. Increasing age, urban location, female gender and other disabilities increase the risk of VI among children.