A Hospital-based Survey on the Pattern of Ocular Diseases in Western Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

Aims and Objectives: Ocular morbidities involve a spectrum of eye diseases that affect one’s quality of life. Therefore, in view of the importance of visual impairment and lack of precise information, the study was conducted to determine the prevalence of various ocular morbidities in patients attending an eye hospital in relation to demographic factors. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Gandhi Eye Hospital, Aligarh, from April 2018 to June 2019. The information regarding name, gender, residential address, marriage, and diagnosis were recorded. Chi-square test was applied to test the statistical significance. Results: A total of 812 individuals formed the study population. The majority of patients were from the age group 11–20 years. The prevalence of ocular morbidities was 54.1% among males and 45.9% among females. Conjunctivitis (22.5%), refractive errors (20.0%) and cataract (16.4%) formed more than 50% of ocular morbidities followed by strabismus (7.6%), corneal opacity (7.0%), glaucoma (5.9%), amblyopia (2.9%), Vit A deficiency (2.8%), blepharitis (2.8%), and ptosis (2.2%). Conclusion: The study reveals that conjunctivitis and refractive errors were the most common causes of ocular disorder among children and cataract was the most common cause of visual impairment among the elderly population. Since majority of the causes were either treatable or preventable, therefore health education activities and programs should be intensified.