Visual health assessment amongst in service police personnel

Abstract

Aim The study of visual health of the police personnel attending the annual health check-up. Background The visual requirements are high for a police officer and there are many standards set before the recruitment of individuals into the police force. But regular eye examination is required in order to ensure that the standards are maintained and thus allows these personnel to continue their work unhindered. Method The study included 462 individuals who underwent a visual health screening as part of their annual health check-up. These individuals were examined at M.S. Ramaiah Medical hospital, department of ophthalmology. Vision testing with Snellen's chart, color vision testing by Ishihara's chart, refraction, slit lamp examination and fundoscopy were performed for all the individuals. The data was analyzed using SPSS software. Results There were 422 males and 40 female candidates. Of the candidates 79% had unaided distant visual acuity (UCVA) of 6/6, while 97.8% had a best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of 6/6. Nineteen (4.1%) individuals had uncorrected visual acuity below 6/18 and of these only five had BCVA of less than 6/18. While only 62.4% had uncorrected near visual acuity of N6, corrected near vision of N6 was achieved in 98.7% individuals. Color vision by Ishihara's test was normal in 99.4% individuals and three (0.6%) of them had deficiency. BCVA in individuals with and without diabetes was compared, 4.4% of those with diabetes had visual impairment compared to only 0.8% in individuals without diabetes, which was significant. Amongst hypertensive individuals, 93.5% had vision above 6/18 while 7.5% had visual impairment compared to 99.5% with good vision and only 0.5% with visual impairment in non-hypertensive group. This difference was statistically significant. Conclusion Police personnel have very stringent visual standards during recruitment hence the visual health of these individuals is good with 97.6% of the total individuals having a BCVA of 6/6. However over the age of 40years, near vision is affected in most individuals and requires correction and those with other systemic conditions of diabetes and hypertension require a more regular follow up in order to ensure that high visual standards are maintained and does not interfere in carrying out the duties that their job demands.