Frequency of ocular conditions in native Brazilians from Avaí City, São Paulo State

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: To perform an epidemiological study of eye diseases in the population of four indigenous communities in the City of Avai in the state of Sao Paulo - Brazil: Ekerua, Kopenoti, Nimuendaju and Teregua. Methods: This is a prospective, cross-sectional, population-based study performed by the Medical Residency Program of the Center of Excellence in Ophthalmology (CEO-Bauru), including all the inhabitants of four indigenous tribes, between the months of March and April 2016. All participants were submitted to a complete eye examination that included refraction test and best-corrected visual acuity, external ocular motility and strabismus, measurement of intraocular pressure (IOP), color vision test, slit lamp examination and a complete evaluation of the fundus. Results: From a total of 584 natives from four villages, 377 (64.55%) attended the project. 283 appointments were performed at CEO - Bauru and 94 evaluations in the health center of Kopenoti village using a mobile ophthalmology unit. 48.54% of the participants were male and 51.46% female. The mean age was 32.03 ± 21.45 years. Our study found prevalence of pterygium of 14.05%, cataract of 6.63%, glaucoma of 1.85% and diabetic retinopathy of 1.59%. These numbers are higher than found in other epidemiological studies. Regarding refractive errors, 36.99% presented astigmatism, 4.24% simple myopia and 8.35% simple hyperopia. Conclusion: These information are extremely important because they show higher rates of eye diseases in a needy and remote population of urban health centers, and in need of medical care. It is noteworthy that all patients from this study who presented refractive errors, received glasses with the corrected refractive lenses.