Uncorrected Refractive Error among Male Students of Madrassas in Rawalpindi – Pakistan

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the frequency of uncorrected refractive error and its association with use of mobile and time spent indoor, among students of madrassas in Rawalpindi. Study Design: Descriptive cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Al-Shifa Trust, Pakistan institute of Ophthalmology, from August to December 2015. Methods: A total of 410 male students of a Madrassa in Rawalpindi were recruited for study. The data was collected through structured questionnaire and visual status of the students was found by using Snellen visual acuity chart. Students with visual acuity of < 6/12 were further examined and categorized into myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. The data was analyzed by using SPSS version 20. The statistical significance was set at? ? 0.05. All descriptive variables were analyzed in the form of percentages and frequencies. Association among the categories was found by using Chi-Square tests of significance. Binary logistic regression analysis was done to find out the best predictors of refractive errors among Madrassa students. Results: Out of 410 students, 119 (29%) had refractive error which was 9 times more common in mobile users than those who were not using mobile phone (OR: 9.35, 95% CI: 5.01 – 17.45). Refractive error was 2 times more common in students with no outdoor activities (OR: 1.86, 95% CI: 1.09 – 3.16). Conclusion: Use of mobile, family history of refractive errors and outdoor activities were associated with refractive errors in madrassa students. Myopia was the commonest refractive error followed by astigmatism and hyperopia. Key Words: Refractive errors, Myopia, Hyperopia, Astigmatism.