Refractive error tudy in children: reult from La Florida, Chile

PURPOE: To ae the prevalence of refractive error and viion impairment in chool-age children in a uburban area (La Florida) of antiago, Chile. METHOD: Random election of geographically defined cluter wa ued to identify a repreentative ample of children 5 to 15 year of age. Children in the 26 elected cluter were enumerated through a door-to-door urvey and invited to report to a community health clinic for examination. Viual acuity meaurement, cycloplegic retinocopy, cycloplegic autorefraction, ocular motility evaluation, and examination of the external eye, anterior egment, media, and fundu were done from April through Augut 1998. Independent replicate examination of all children with reduced viion and a ample of thoe with normal viion were done for quality aurance monitoring in ix cluter. Abtract REULT: A total of 6,998 children from 3,830 houehold were enumerated, and 5,303 children (75.8%) were examined. The prevalence of uncorrected, preenting, and bet viual acuity 0.50 (20/40) or wore in at leat one eye wa 15.8%, 14.7%, and 7.4%, repectively; 3.3% had bet viual acuity 0.50 or wore in both eye. Refractive error wa the caue in 56.3% of the 1,285 eye with reduced viion, amblyopia in 6.5%, other caue in 4.3%, with unexplained caue in the remaining 32.9%. Myopia −0.50 diopter or le in either eye wa preent in 3.4% of 5-year-old children, increaing to 19.4% in male and 14.7% in female by age 15. Over thi ame age range, hyperopia 2.00 diopter or greater decreaed from 22.7% to 7.1% in male and from 26.3% to 8.9% in female. Female had a ignificantly higher rik of hyperopia than male. CONCLUION: Refractive error, aociated primarily with myopia, i a major caue of reduced viion in chool-age children in La Florida. More than 7% of children could benefit from the proviion of proper pectacle. Effort are needed to make exiting program that provide free pectacle for chool children more effective. Further tudie are needed to determine whether the upward trend in myopia continue far beyond 15 year of age.