Prevalence and Determining Factors Of Refractive Errors Among Medical Students In FMU, Faisalabad

Abstract

Aim: Prevalence and determining factors of refractive errors among the medical students in FMU, Faisalabad. Methodology: Cross-sectional quantitative study conducted in Faisalabad Medical University from 01-03-2020 to 15-12-2020 after approval from institutional review committee. All students of MBBS in FMU were included in this study. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the required quantitative information. SPSS version 26 was used for analysis. Results: Prevalence of refractive error is 49%. Females were 59% and males were 41%. More students i.e. 85.2% were suffering from myopia. In our study, usage of electronic devices i.e. mobile phones especially was one of the risk factors in developing refractive errors. 20.6% students having refractive error said that they use mobile phone for 4 hours, 30.2% having refractive error said that they watch TV for one hour, 23.3% having refractive error said that they play video games for one hour. For the correction of the refractive error, 184 students i.e. 97.4% used spectacles whereas only 5 (2.6%) students used contact lenses. It is observed in this study that contact lenses were only used by those students having refractive error <1.5. Conclusion: Refractive errors were a significant cause of visual impairment among medical students. The prolonged use of electronic devices especially mobile phones should be discouraged. Keywords: Refractive errors, myopia, electronic devices, mobile phone