Pattern Of Refractive Errors Research Articles

Pattern of Refractive Error among Amblyopic Children at tertiary referral hospital of Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Introduction: Amblyopia is one of the common causes of preventable uniocular or binocular vision loss in children. Timely diagnosis and management of amblyopia is crucial. If corrective measures are not taken in time it becomes permanent. Aim: To study the various types of refractive errors in amblyopic children aged 5-18 years in tertiary eye hospital. Materials and Methods: Retrospective cross –sectional study was carried out in the tertiary eye care hospital. All the children attending the ophthalmology OPD during January2021 to January 2023 were enrolled. All underwent detailed ophthalmic evaluation. After post mydriatic test, children with difference of two lines or more in visual acuity on Snellen chart were taken and detailed ophthalmic evaluation done. Results: The prevalence of amblyopia was 6.2% (n=48) with male dominant of 62.5% (n=30), while female was 37.5% (n=18). In types of Amblyopia, most common was simple Hypermetropic of 42% (n=20) followed by simple myopic and hypertropic Astigmatism 19% (n=9) in each. The Anisometropia Amblyopia was in 12% (n=6), while myopic astigmatism in 8%(n=4). The 69%(n=33) was binocular while 31% (n=15) was uniocular amblyopia. Conclusion: The Refractive errors are treatable and preventable cause of amblyopia. Timely diagnosis and proper treatments like spectacles, contact lenses, patching and active vision exercises, we can treat Amblyopia and prevent the psychosocial, economical loss in adult life. Keywords: Myopia, Hypermetropia, Anisometropia, Astigmatism

Prevalence and pattern of refractive errors among school-going children in district Baramulla, Kashmir: A cross sectional study.

Uncorrected refractive error is one of the most important causes of visual impairment worldwide. Addressing childhood vision impairment (VI) is one of the main goals of the World Health Organization (WHO) to combat blindness strategies. To ascertain the prevalence and pattern of refractive errors among children aged 10 to 16 years in Baramulla district, Kashmir. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 680 school children during an eye camp under the school health program of the national program for control of blindness. The screening was conducted in four schools in Baramulla district, Kashmir. The schools were selected using the non-probability convenient sampling technique. A total of 680 school children from classes sixth to tenth aged 10-16 years participated in the study. Out of 680 students, 545 (80%) had normal vision, 97 (14%) had impaired visual acuity ranging between 6/9 and 6/24, and 38 (6%) had severe VI ranging from 6/36 to 6/60. Among the various types of refractive errors, myopia was the most prevalent affecting 54 children. Age distribution of refractive errors showed myopia to be more prevalent in the age group 13-14 years (16, 14 cases), hypermetropia was more prevalent in the age group 14-15 years (10, 8 cases), and astigmatism 5 cases in the age group 14-15 years. The study provides useful and baseline data about the refractive error amongst the school children of the Baramulla district. A larger study needs to be conducted in all schools of the state to get a clear picture of RE and other eye-related problems to detect vision problems earlier.

Prevalence of refractive errors and visual impairment due to refractive errors among school children in Cairo, Egypt

Aim The aim of this research was to study the distribution and patterns of refractive errors (REs) among school children and the incidence of amblyopia in each type. Patients and methods This is an observational nonrandomized population-based cross-sectional study that included children aged 6-18 years attending the Outpatient Clinic of Al-Zahraa University Hospital, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt. All children were subjected to comprehensive eye examination including best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), expressed in LogMAR, cycloplegic REs that was documented using a NIDEK auto-refractometer-keratometer, cover-uncover testing, and fundus examination. The prevalence of REs, amblyopia, and anisometropia was estimated. Results The study included 960 children (1920 eyes), with a mean age of 13.08±3.41 years. Emmetropia was found in 834 (43.4%) eyes, while myopia was reported in 587 (30.6%) eyes, hypermetropia in 114 (5.9%) eyes, and myopic astigmatism in 385 (20%) eyes. Anisometropia was reported in 65 (6.77%) children, while amblyopia was found in 49 (5.1%) eyes. The amblyopia prevalence was statistically significantly higher among the hypermetropic group (3.9%) than the myopic astigmatism group (1.2%), (P = 0.031). Conclusion The overall prevalence of REs among the examined children was 56.6% mainly myopia followed by myopic astigmatism and lastly hypermetropia. This draws the attention to the increased incidence of myopia which needs further social studies.

Prevalence of refractive error in Nigerian children

ABSTRACT Refractive errors can have profound effects on children. Cost and logistics prohibit national population-based studies and global data do not accurately reflect the burden among Nigerian children. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to provide pooled prevalence and pattern of refractive error in Nigerian children. This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The protocol for this study was pre-specified and registered on the International Prospective Register of Systematic Review (registration number ID: CRD42022303419). A systematic search of PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, CINAHL Cochrane Library, African Journal Online, and African Index Medicus databases, was done for school-based, or population-based studies on refractive error prevalence in Nigerian children younger than 18 years of age or school children in pre-tertiary institutions. Quality-effect model was used to calculate weighted prevalence, odds ratio, and corresponding 95% confidence interval. Twenty-eight school-based studies including 34,866 children were identified. No population-based studies were found. The pooled prevalence of refractive error in Nigerian children was 5.9% (3.6–8.7%) and varied between regions and with the definition of refractive error used in the studies. The number of children needed to be screened to detect one case of refractive error was 15 (9–21). The odds of refractive error was higher in girls (odds ratio: 1.3 {1.1 to 1.5}), children >10 years (odds ratio: 1.7 {1.3 to 2.2}), and urban residents (odds ratio: 2.0 {1.6 to 2.5}). The high prevalence of refractive error in Nigerian children substantiates the value of screening school children for refractive error, particularly targeting urban and older children. Research is needed to refine case definitions and improve screening protocol. Population-based studies are needed to define the prevalence of refractive error in communities. The epidemiologic and methodological challenges in conducting prevalence reviews is discussed.

Prevalence and pattern of refractive error in a tertiary health facility in southwest Nigeria

Background: Globally, uncorrected refractive error (RE) is a major cause of blindness, visual impairment (VI), and low vision.
 Aim: To determine the prevalence, pattern, and level of visual impairment among clinic patients with refractive error in a tertiary health facility.
 Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study conducted on patients who presented at a tertiary health facility in Ogun State, Nigeria. The biodata of the patients, level of education, occupation, the symptoms, and signs including the visual acuity (at presentation and after correction), and diagnosis were considered. Lenses that gave the patient the best vision were recorded as the type and magnitude of refractive error for that individual.
 Results: The prevalence of RE was 10.6%. Children and adolescents comprised 23.3% of the cases of refractive error while traders comprised 17.1%. Those who did not have formal education were 3.7%. Blurring of vision for near was the most common presenting symptom. Normal visual acuity (6/6) and better was 33.4% at entry and 77.4% with correction. Myopia was observed to be the most common type of RE in children and adolescents. The prevalence of VI and blindness was 6.7%.
 Conclusion: RE is a major cause of blindness and VI, with the prevalence of myopia higher in age group thirty years and below: lack of formal education may be a barrier for uptake of refractive error services in population with low literacy level.

Pattern of Refractive Errors in a Tertiary Hospital in South East, Nigeria

Background: Uncorrected refractive errors (RE) are a major cause of visual impairment. They affect a large proportion of the population globally and have psychological and socio-economic effects on the individual, family and society. They could lead to poor quality of life.
 Aim: To determine the pattern and predisposing factors of refractive errors among patients seen in the outpatient clinic.
 Methodology: A cross-sectional, descriptive study involving patients with refractive error that presented to the eye clinic in the year 2017. Data were obtained from patients’ records, entered into and analysed using IBM SPSS version 25.
 Results: A total of 300 patients with refractive errors were seen in the period of study. This comprised of 93 males and 207 females with mean age of 40.13±17.6 years. The commonest presenting complaint was blurring of both far & near vision (24%), other presenting complaints in decreasing order of frequency were blurring of distant vision, itching, blurring of near vision, eye pain, headache and red eyes in 18%,15%, 9.6%, 5.6%, and 3.2% respectively. Presbyopia was noted in 55.3% while myopia, anisometropia, astigmatism and hypermetropia were noted in 20.7%, 19.3%, 7.0% and 1.3% respectively. Nuclear sclerosis was the commonest co-existing ocular pathology or morbidity.
 Statistically significant association was found between age of the patients and presence of ocular disease existing with RE (p=0.016).
 Conclusion: Fifty-one percent of the study population had refractive errors. The commonest refractive error was myopia while hypermetropia was the least common refractive error in this environment.

Preschool eye screening: A study in South India

To assess the prevalence of ocular disorders and visual disability in preschool children in Southern India and to know if preschool eye screening by ophthalmologist or ophthalmic officer is essential to be made mandatary program. This is apreschool based prospective cross sectional study which was adopted in 47 Anganwadi (preschool), which came under one Taluk in Karnataka Total of 1283 children were screened and examined by ophthalmologist and ophthalmic officer at general hospital, over a period of 2 months. All the children were divided into 2 groups, 0-3yrs and 3-6 years, who underwent a detailed eye examination. Children aged 3-6 yrs were also examined for refractive disorders. The pattern of refractive errors and ocular disorders etc. were studied by cross-sectional descriptive analysis of data and statistical analysis for age and gender. Among 1283 children examined, 757 were 0-3 yrs and 526 were 3-6 yrs, out of which 66 (5.2%) children with ocular disorders were detected. The commonest eye disorder in children of 3-6 yrs group was refractive error 24 (4.6%) commonest being myopia 11(2%). No statistically significant differences in the distribution of ocular disorders by age or gender were detected. Screening of preschool children by an Ophthalmologist or an Ophthalmic officer detects ocular disorders and makes timely intervention possible and also prevents the development of permanent visual disability and thus prevents socioeconomic urden. A large-scale community-based preschool eye screening program in India identifies morbid eye conditions early, that are amenable to cure and prompt rehabilitation.

The pattern of Visual and Refractive status of the children

Aim: Amblyopia (lazy eye) may develop due to uncorrected refractive error, especially in schoolgoing age. We were attempting to assess the frequency of refractive error among the children. Methodology: The prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary eye hospital of Bangladesh from 01 February 2021 to 30 June 2021. The investigators will maintain pre-design data, and data were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: 228 children from 6 years to 12 years of age were evaluated in this study. Boys were 142 (62.3%), and girls were 86 (37.7%). The Mean Age was 9.84 years. The Visual acuity was improved after the corrections of refractive errors in both eyes. Myopia (47.9%) was the highest occurrence among the children among the pattern of refractive errors. Myopic astigmatism (76.9%) was common in all types of astigmatism. 21% of children were associated with strabismus. Amblyopia was found in 6.6% of all. Ophthalmic trauma was noted as 16.7% of all children. Developmental cataracts, Healed keratitis, lacrimal drainage system disorders, congenital ptosis were the associated ophthalmic diseases. Conclusion: Refractive error gradually increased with age. Simple myopia was the most common refractive error than hyperopia and astigmatism. Each child should evaluate the ocular condition and visual status for the early detection and management of refractive error and amblyopia.

Prevalence and Patterns of Refractive Errors in Children and Young Adults in an Urban Region in South India: the Hyderabad Eye Study

ABSTRACT Purpose To determine the prevalence of refractive error (RE) and associated risk factors for myopic refractive errors in children and young adults from the urban region of Hyderabad, South India. Methods Four thousand sixty-five (4,065) participants aged 6–22 years were enrolled and examined in this cross-sectional study conducted from October 2013 to January 2015. Participants were enrolled from a random sample of schools and universities in regions representative of urban Hyderabad. RE was determined using cycloplegic autorefraction. The association of demographic factors such as age, gender, and socio-economic category (SEC) (low/mid/high) with myopia was explored with logistic regression with robust standard error. Results Of the total participants, 2,259 were children aged 6–15 years and 1,806 were adolescents and young adults aged 16–22 years. Overall prevalence of myopia, high myopia (≤ −5.00D and ≤ −6.00 D), hyperopia, emmetropia, and astigmatism was 29.8% (95% CI: 26.0% to 33.6%, n = 1,216), 2.9% (95% CI: 1.9% to 3.9%, n = 120), 1.1% (95%CI: 0.7% to 1.5%, n = 46), 14.7% (95% CI: 12.4% to 17.0%, n = 599), 46.9% (95% CI: 43.7% to 50.1%, n = 1913) and 8.6% (95% CI: 7.4% to 9.9%, n = 352) respectively. A strong correlation existed between age and prevalence of myopia (R2 = 0.88, p < .001) and high myopia (R2 = 0.71, p < .001). Children from schools of low SEC (34.7%) had higher prevalence of myopia compared to the mid SEC (16.8%) (p = .043). Conclusion Myopia was the most prevalent refractive error and increased with age in this urban population. More myopia was observed in schools of low SEC.

Pattern of refractive errors in persons with albinism in two states of North-Western Nigeria

Albinism is a heterogenous group of disorders of melanin synthesis or distribution that is genetically inherited. Refractive errors are common in participants with albinism and high values have been reported. The aim of this study was to determine the pattern of refractive errors in people living with albinism in North-Western Nigeria. This was a prospective hospital-based study, carried out over 12 months from April 2017-March 2018 (12 months) whereby persons with albinism from Kano and Jigawa states were recruited. Ethical approval was obtained from the ethical review board of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. A structured proforma was used to record findings of history, examination and subjective and objective refraction were measured for each patient. Data was analysed using the statistical software SPSS version 20.0. A total of 61 participants with 122 eyes were examined. There were 32 males and 29 females (M: F= 1:1.1). Their ages ranged from 19 months to 60 years with a mean age of 16.77 ± 12.82 years. The pattern of refractive errors was hypermetropic astigmatism (38.90%), myopic astigmatism (30.60%), hypermetropia (8.30%) and mixed astigmatism (4%). Refractive errors are common in participants with albinism. In this study hypermetropic astigmatism is the most common refractive error. Key words: Albinism, pattern, refractive error.

Prevalence and pattern of refractive error and visual impairment among schoolchildren: the Lhasa childhood eye study

BackgroundEarly and effective ocular screening may help to eliminate treatable eye disorders. The Lhasa Childhood Eye Study (LCES) revealed the particular prevalence of refractive error and visual impairment in grade one schoolchildren (starting age of 6 years old) in Lhasa.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional part of school-based cohort study. One thousand nine hundred forty-three children were enrolled (median age, 6.78 years, range, 5.89 to 10.32). Each child underwent general and ocular examinations, including logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) visual acuity, cycloplegic autorefraction, and slit-lamp biomicroscopy evaluation. Multivariate and correlation analyses were performed to evaluate the association between refractive error with gender and ethnics.ResultsThe prevalence of visual impairment (logMAR visual acuity ≥0.3 in the better-seeing eye) of uncorrected, presenting and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 12.2, 11.7 and 2.7%, respectively. Refractive error presented in 177 (78.0%) out of 227 children with bilateral visual impairment. Myopia (spherical equivalent refractor [SER] ≤ − 0.50 diopter [D] in either eye) was present in 4.7% children when measured after cycloplegic autorefraction. Hyperopia (SER ≥ + 2.00 D) affected 12.1% children. Hyperopia was significantly associated with female gender (P<0.001). Astigmatism (cylinder value ≤ − 0.75 D) was present in 44.8% children. In multivariate regression and correlation analysis, SER had no significant difference between ethnic groups.ConclusionThe Lhasa Childhood Eye Study is the first school-based cohort study to reveal the prevalence and pattern of refractive error and visual impairment in Lhasa. Effective strategies such as corrective spectacles should be considered to alleviate treatable visual impairment.

Pattern of Refractive Errors and Strabismus in Children

Refractive errors(RE) is an optical defect that reduces the ordinary imaginative and prescient and is a prime contributor to visual impairment, especially among school youngsters, and most of the time it remains undiagnosed for lengthy intervals leading to visionary disabilities in children. Other condition is strabismus that is when eyes do not pair as depicting misalignment, it seems as if the two eyes are not fixating on the identical region on the equal time.&#x0D; Objectives: To determine the pattern of refractive errors &amp; strabismus in children.&#x0D; Methods: 1889 patients were observed, children of age ranging from 1 month to 14 years in Ophthalmology department of Arif Memorial Teaching Hospital, Lahore between the year 2018 to 2019. A self-structure Performa was utilized to gather information. Ocular misalignment was evaluated by cover test and the Hirschberg light reflex. The data was analyzed by SPSS 24.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago,USA).&#x0D; Results: Total 1889 children examined, 18.7% were less than 1 year, 54.7% were between 1 to 4 years, and 26.6%were 4 to 14 years. In those children prevalence of Refractive error was 37.6% in which 18.8% had hypermetropia, 11.2% had astigmatism and 7.6% had myopia. In the data of 1889 patients, 18.7% were less than 1 year in which 79 had strabismus out of which 11.6% are alternating exotropia, 5.4% are alternating exotropia, 4.0% are exotropia, and 1.4% were exotropia. While 54.68% patients were between 1 to 4 years, in which 29.7% had squint. 26.57% patients were between 4 to 14 years, 157 had strabismus. In those patients 13.9% were alternating exotropia, 8.2% were exotropia, 7.4% were alternating exotropia, and 1.8% were exotropia.&#x0D; Conclusions: Hypermetropia appears significantly general in the children of age that is less than 1 year. While in strabismus, alternating esotropia is more commonplace in our study, but it does not suggests any significance with age.

Epidemiology, clinical profile, and pattern of refractive error in newly diagnosed cases of refractive error in pediatric population visiting a tertiary eye care center

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the epidemiology, clinical profile, and pattern of refractive error in newly diagnosed cases in children visiting a tertiary care eye center in southern India. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was conducted on 367 children, ≤15 years of age, with significant refractive error who visited our tertiary eye care hospital over a period of 1 year. Every child underwent detailed ocular examination. Significant refractive error was defined as myopia of ≥−0.75 diopter (D), hypermetropia of more than +2 D, and astigmatism of more than 0.75 D. Descriptive statistics were computed for better and the worse eye. Statistical tests were applied between the worse and better eyes using Chi-square test. Results: A total of 367 children (38.8%) were diagnosed for the first time of having refractive error. Only 146 (39.8%) children presented with visual complaints. With respect to the vision in the worse eye, 65.9% (n = 240) had moderately subnormal vision. There was no statistically significant difference (P = 0.057) between age distribution and visual acuity in the worse eye. Two hundred and thirty-eight children (64.9%) had significant astigmatism as compared to 161 myopic (43.9%) children. There was a statistically significant difference between reasons of visit and different age groups. Conclusions: Astigmatism was the most prevalent refractive error and uncorrected astigmatism the most significant amblyogenic factor. Since majority of children, especially in the younger age group, present with nonvisual complaints, involvement of pediatricians and parents will help us to reduce morbidity due to uncorrected refractive error and amblyopia.

Prevalence of Refractive Error and Strabismus in Primary School Children of Tehsil Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan

OBJECTIVES: Refractive errors and strabismus continue to remain a significant public health problem. Among school children it has an impact on child development. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of refractive error and strabismus among primary school children. METHODOLOGY: It was a cross-sectional study. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select the school children. Data was collected in November-December 2013. Visual impairment was defined as, presenting VA of &lt; 6/12. A total of 2288 children (1746 boys and 542 girls) were screened from 26 randomly selected schools. Stratified sampling technique was used. Data were collected on pre-designed questionnaires and entered and analyzed by SPSS software version 16. RESULTS: The mean age of children was 8.10 + 2.3 years. About 4% children were found visually impaired. The prevalence of refractive error was found to be 5.4%, of which 88.6% was uncorrected refractive error. The prevalence of refractive error was found higher in girls than boys, 6.8% and 5.0% respectively. Among types of refractive error, myopia prevalence was 2.3%, hypermetropia prevalence was 2.0% and astigmatism prevalence was 1.1%. The prevalence of strabismus was 1.3%. Refractive error was found as a main cause of visual impairment in school children. Prevalence of strabismus among this study population is relatively low as compared to the global prevalence of 2% to 5%. CONCLUSION: It is recommended that more study to determine the extent of the problem and possible factors for development of refractive error and strabismus types are needed to mitigate these conditions.

An observational study to evaluate the prevalence and pattern of refractive errors in children aged 3-17 years in Mumbai, India

Background: Refractive error is one of the most important causes of avoidable visual impairment. Early detection of refractive error in children is essential to avoid any permanent disability. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of refractive errors as per age, gender and educational standard in school children aged 3-17 years.Methods: This was an observational non-interventional study. 600 eyes of 300 participants in the age group of 3-17 years were evaluated. All underwent cycloplegic refraction followed by objective refraction. Participants were divided into 3 groups as follows 3-8 years, 9-12 years and 13-17 years and evaluation of type of refractive error was done age wise and gender wise.Results: The number of male and female participants was almost similar with a male:female ratio of 1.02:1. Refractive errors were most common in the age group of 9-12 years. The most common refractive error was astigmatism followed by myopia and hypermetropia. It was also found that majority of patients had bilateral refractive errors.Conclusions: The most common refractive error was astigmatism followed by myopia and hypermetropia. It was also found that majority of patients had bilateral refractive errors. The visual acuity in majority was 6/18 which according to WHO classification falls in Category 0 of Visual impairment in India.

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Prevalence and pattern of refractive errors among Saudi adults.

Background & Objectives:Refractive Errors (RE) are responsible for major portion of the treatable visual impairment and avoidable blindness in the world. The prevalence of RE varies with age, gender, ethnicity, geographical locations and also from time to time due to progresse in eye care services. We aimed to study the prevalence of RE and assess their patterns among Saudi adults of Arar city, the capital of Northern Border Region of Saudi Arabia.Methods:This is a cross-sectional, population-based study. A total number of 966 Saudi adults aged 16 to 39 years were enrolled. The patterns of their RE were studied through auto-refraction evaluation.Results:The prevalence of RE was 45.8%. The most frequent type of RE was myopia in 24.4%, followed by hyperopia 11.9% and astigmatism in 9.5% cases. Ages and genders significantly affect the prevalence of the different patterns of RE (0.033 and 0.012, respectively).Conclusion:The prevalence of RE in Arar city is slightly lower than that previously published in the same targeted age group. Myopia is the main RE. More awareness programs, especially among young adults are recommended for better outcomes.

Refractive Error among Male Primary School Students in Jazan, Saudi Arabia: Prevalence and Associated Factors

Background:Refractive error is a common and serious eye disorder that affects more than 153 million people globally. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and pattern of refractive error among male primary school children in Jazan region, Saudi Arabia.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted among a randomly selected group of 395 students (aged 6-14 years) in Jazan region, Southwest Saudi Arabia. An optometrist and medical students assessed the refraction error using an autorefractor, a Snellen E chart and retinoscopy.Results:The overall prevalence of uncorrected refractive error in either eye was, 22% higher among rural students. The most prevalent refractive error was hyperopia (32.2%) followed by myopic astigmatism (31%) then myopia (17.2%). Next were hyperopic astigmatism (16.1%) and mixed astigmatism (3.5%). The following variables were associated with a higher risk of refractive errors and myopia: living in rural areas, having parents with refractive errors, spending more time on electronic devices and shorter visual distances.Conclusion:Refractive error was highly prevalent among primary school children in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. The rural students were more affected by refractive errors, mainly hyperopia. The preschool vision test should be reconsidered, and a periodic vision examination should be applied to detect vision problems as early as possible.

Demographic profile of newly detected refractive errors among schoolgoing children in Thrissur district of Kerala

Aim: This study aims to analyze the demographic profile of newly detected refractive errors among schoolgoing children in Thrissur district of Kerala. Materials and Methods: In this population-based cross-sectional study, 91,628 schoolgoing children between 6 and 17 years of age, from Thrissur district of Kerala were evaluated through school screening programs conducted at the respective schools. Demographic and clinical profiles of refractive errors among children with newly prescribed spectacles were analyzed. Statistical Analysis: Demographic data were represented as bar charts and pie diagrams. Subgroup analysis for type for the influence of age, sex, and rural–urban location on the pattern of refractive error was analyzed using odds ratio. Results: Out of the total 91,628 schoolgoing children, 1079 (1.18%) were newly prescribed with spectacles. Out of these, 549 (50.80%) were boys and 530 (49.20%) were girls. Myopic astigmatism was the most common refractive error (68.30%) in all the age groups taken together and individually. Simple myopia was seen in 13.81%, hypermetropic astigmatism in 13.07%, mixed astigmatism in 3.89%, and simple hypermetropia in 1.20% newly prescribed cases. In the 10–12 year age group, there was a significantly higher chance of occurrence of refractive errors of all types among the rural children in comparison to their urban counterparts. In the 6–9 years' age group, there was a significantly higher chance of occurrence of hypermetropia, hypermetropic astigmatism, and mixed astigmatism among the rural children when compared to the urban children. Conclusion: Prevalence of spectacle use was less than the need for spectacle correction among schoolgoing children in Thrissur district of Kerala. As the prevalence of uncorrected/undercorrected refractive errors was more among the rural upper primary and lower primary school children, targeted strategies to address this deficit in service delivery need to be formulated.

Pattern of Refractive Errors in Kashmiri Population- A Hospital Based Study

Pattern of Refractive Errors in Kashmiri Population- A Hospital Based Study