Prevalence and causes of ocular morbidity among school children in urban and rural areas

Abstract

Background: Poor vision impairs the performance of school children and has a negative impact on their future. The prevalence of blindness in school children is estimated to be 0.8/1000 in the age group of 0–15 years. Most children with an uncorrected refractive error are asymptomatic; hence, periodic visual screening and primary eye care reduce the prevalence of refractive error and ocular morbidity. Objective: To study the prevalence of ocular morbidity among school children in urban and rural areas. Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted in two randomly selected private schools in urban area and two randomly selected government schools in rural area among school children aged 6–15 years studying in standards I–X. They were selected from each class by systematic random sampling. Detailed history and ocular examination were carried out for all children. Results: The prevalence of ocular morbidity among study participants was high (20.3%). The major cause of ocular morbidity was refractive error in 17.4% of the cases. Age group of 5–7 years, being urban school child, illiterate parents were significantly associated with ocular morbidity (P < 0.05). Gender and religion were not associated with ocular morbidity. The most common ocular morbidity was refractive error (17.4%). Color blindness (1.5%), conjunctivitis (1.3%), and stye and chalazion (1.1%) were other ocular morbidities. Conclusion: Most cases of ocular morbidity were preventable or treatable if detected early. Hence, strategies including prevention at the primary and secondary level form core of any strategies to reduce ocular morbidities in school going children.