An observational study to evaluate the prevalence and pattern of refractive errors in children aged 3-17 years in Mumbai, India

Abstract

Background: Refractive error is one of the most important causes of avoidable visual impairment. Early detection of refractive error in children is essential to avoid any permanent disability. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of refractive errors as per age, gender and educational standard in school children aged 3-17 years.Methods: This was an observational non-interventional study. 600 eyes of 300 participants in the age group of 3-17 years were evaluated. All underwent cycloplegic refraction followed by objective refraction. Participants were divided into 3 groups as follows 3-8 years, 9-12 years and 13-17 years and evaluation of type of refractive error was done age wise and gender wise.Results: The number of male and female participants was almost similar with a male:female ratio of 1.02:1. Refractive errors were most common in the age group of 9-12 years. The most common refractive error was astigmatism followed by myopia and hypermetropia. It was also found that majority of patients had bilateral refractive errors.Conclusions: The most common refractive error was astigmatism followed by myopia and hypermetropia. It was also found that majority of patients had bilateral refractive errors. The visual acuity in majority was 6/18 which according to WHO classification falls in Category 0 of Visual impairment in India.