Prevalence and patterns of refractive errors among school-aged children in Delta State, Southern Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Globally, visual impairment is a major public health concern among children and adolescents and 67% of cases are due to uncorrected refractive error. This study assessed the prevalence and pattern of refractive errors among school-age children in Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria.

Methods: This school-based cross-sectional study was carried out among 822 school age children selected using multistage sampling technique. Pre-tested, structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on sociodemographic characteristics and ocular history of the participants. Eye examination was performed using the modified Refractive Error Study in School Children (RESC) protocol. The final prescription and the best-corrected visual acuity visual acuity were recorded. Data was analyzed using IBSM SPSS version 22 and statistical significance was set at p<0.05.

Results: The mean age (SD) of the participants was 10.1 (3.05) years and 458 (55.7%) were females. The prevalence of refractive error among the participants was 4.4%. Myopia was the commonest form (75%), followed by astigmatism (16.7%) and hyperopia (8.3%) among those with refractive errors. Participants’ sociodemographic characteristics were not significantly associated with the occurrence of refractive errors (p<0.05).

Conclusion: The prevalence of refractive error in the school children was high with myopia being the commonest form. The occurrence of refractive error among the school children was not dependent of their sociodemographic characteristics. The Delta State Government should take steps to strengthen implementation of the school health programme.