Factors affecting prevalence of myopia among undergraduate medical students: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Myopia, often known as nearsightedness, is the most common cause of vision impairment and is becoming more and more common globally. Presently it is effecting more among professional students who are busy in studies and having screen time more than usual. The aim of present study is to evaluate the factors affecting prevalence of myopia among medical undergraduates.The present cross sectional study was conducted among 590 undergraduate medical students of Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences, Jalandhar, Punjab for a period of two months. The self-administered questionnaire was created and sent to students through google forms and whatsapp. Results were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0 keeping level of significance at p less than 0.05.Prevalence of myopia among undergraduate medical students was found to be 70.3%. Maximum students were in the age group of 21-25 years (62.7%), females (58.7%) were more in number as compared to males (41.3%). Total 42.2% of students have family history related to myopia out of which 77.1% had myopia. Association between sociodemographic, parental, lifestyle factors and prevalence of myopia was done; only parental history showed significant results with p value 0.003.The current study revealed that there is high prevalence of myopia among undergraduate medical students specially in females. Positive parental history has significant association with prevalence of myopia.