A cross-sectional study of refractive errors between medical students of Indian and Malaysian Medical Colleges, At Belagavi

Abstract

Introduction: Of all the human senses, the sense of vision is used the most and so, is affected the most. Refractive errors are becoming a more problem of concern, especially Myopia has become very common problem. The epidemiology of refractive errors seen over a generation mainly influenced by environmental changes namely stress and time spent in education, where the student’s population group requires a considerable attention. Objectives: 1. To compare the prevalence of Refractive errors between medical students. 2. To study “Gender difference” in the prevalence of refractive errors. 3. To know the involvement of “Ethnicity” factor in the prevalence of refractive errors. Materials and Methods: Study consisting of 100 Indian medical students from Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences (BIMS), Belagavi and 100 Malaysian medical students of USM-KLE, International Medical Programme (USM-KLE) Belagavi, of all the five phases, who were tested for presence of Refractive errors with the help of Snellen’s chart, Jaegers chart and confirmation by pinhole test. Result: Overall prevalence of Refractive errors was high in USM-KLE students 65% than BIMS students 54%, Female students being more affected than males in both groups in all the errors. Especially Myopia had more prevalence in USM-KLE students 65% than BIMS students 46%, Myopia with astigmatism in USM-KLE students was 14% and in BIMS students 7%. Statistical Analysis: Basic data will be presented in percentage and the association between the variables will be done by using Chi-square test. Conclusion: The prevalence of refractive errors was more in USM-KLE students than BIMS students, females being more affected than males in both groups in all the refractive errors, which could be due to ethnic variations, genetic predisposition, higher levels of education with more near work activities and longer study periods. Keywords: Refractive errors; Medical stu