Visual status and prevalence of eye disorders among school-age children in southern Nigeria

Author:

Ekpenyong Bernadine N.,Naidoo Kovin,Ahaiwe Kelechukwu,Ezenwankwo Onyeka,Ndukwe Onyebuchi,Ogar Emmanuel,Ekanem Ekanem

Abstract

Aim: This study assessed the types and prevalence of eye problems among school-age children in Cross River State (CRS), Nigeria.Method: The study design was a cross-sectional analytic survey of 2418 school children aged 6–17 years from seven public and three private schools in CRS, selected using the multistage random sampling technique. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethical Committee, CRS Ministry of Health, Nigeria. The following tests were carried out on all children enrolled in the study: researcher-administered semi-structured questionnaires, LogMAR visual acuity measurements, external and internal eye examinations, non-cycloplegic auto-refractions, retinoscopy and subjective refractions. Quality assurance was carried out to validate the data collected, and data were analysed using SPSS and EPI info.Results: A total of 2418 school children were enumerated, and 2110 (87.3%) were examined; 1117 (52.9%) were girls, and 1250 (59.2%) were 6–11 years old, while 860 (40.8%) were 12–17 years old, and 77% attended public schools. The majority, 1895 (89.9%) of the children examined, had never had an eye examination. The prevalence of eye diseases among the school children was 32.1%, and the major causes were conjunctivitis 397 (18.8%; confidence interval [CI] 19.2–13.0), refractive error 243 (11.5%; CI 10.2–13.0), glaucoma suspects 52 (2.5%; CI 1.9–3.2), amblyopia 7 (0.3%; CI 0.0–0.7) and corneal opacity 4 (0.2%; CI 0.1–0.5). Analysis using chi-square tests and logistic regression shows a positive higher association of refractive error in private (16.7%) than public schools (9.9%) (crude odds ratio [COR] 1.8150; adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.9129, p < 0.001), higher socio-economic status of parents (COR 2.3402, AOR 1.9819, p < 0.001), older age group (COR 1.7258, AOR 1.8202, p < 0.001) and girls (13.1%) versus boys (9.8%) (COR 0.7200, AOR 0.7144, p < 0.001).Conclusion: Physical and eye health examination of children before school entry is strongly recommended. The application of 2 D lens for children who fail a standard visual acuity test should be routine during vision screening to ensure that significant refractive errors are not missed.

Publisher

AOSIS

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3