Visual Impairment and Myopia in Brazilian Children
- 1 March 2013
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Optometry and Vision Science
- Vol. 90 (3), 223-227
- https://doi.org/10.1097/opx.0b013e31828197fd
Abstract
To determine the frequency of myopia and other causes of visual impairment (VI) in individuals aged 10 to 15 years who live in a typical Brazilian city. Random selection of geographically based clusters was performed to obtain a sample of children aged 10 to 15 years in Gurupi City, Tocantins, Brazil. From June to August 2007, children in 12 clusters were enumerated through a door-to-door survey. All children with an uncorrected visual acuity (VA) worse than 20/32 in either eye were scheduled for ophthalmologic evaluation, including VA and ocular motility testing, cycloplegic refraction, and external, biomicroscopic, and dilated funduscopic examinations. The primary cause of VI was determined for eyes with an uncorrected VA of 20/40 or worse. A total of 1590 children were examined; 814 (51%) were boys and 776 (49%) were girls. The prevalence of uncorrected, presenting and best-corrected VA of 20/40 or worse in the better eye was 5.72%, 2.83%, and 0.81%, respectively. The primary cause of VI in one or both eyes was refractive error in 65 (89%) of 73 children, amblyopia in 4 (5.5%) of 73 children, retinal disorders in 3 (4.1%) of 73 children, and congenital cataracts in 1 (1.4%) of 73 children. In this population, the prevalence of VI-related myopia was 3.14%. The prevalence of VI among children aged 10 to 15 years in this typical Brazilian city is low and similar to other school-based studies, and most of the VI is caused by uncorrected myopia.Keywords
This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
- Prevalence and Causes of Visual Impairment in Low–Middle Income School Children in São Paulo, BrazilInvestigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 2008
- The Prevalence of Visual Impairment in School Children of Upper-Middle Socioeconomic Status in KathmanduOphthalmic Epidemiology, 2008
- Refractive Error and Visual Impairment in School Children in Rural Southern ChinaOphthalmology, 2007
- Refractive Status of Indigenous People in the Northwestern Amazon Region of BrazilOptometry and Vision Science, 2005
- Important Causes of Visual Impairment in the World TodayJama-Journal Of The American Medical Association, 2003
- Refractive Error and Visual Impairment in African Children in South AfricaPublished by Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) ,2003
- Refractive error study in children: sampling and measurement methods for a multi-country surveyAmerican Journal of Ophthalmology, 2000
- Refractive error study in children: results from Shunyi District, ChinaAmerican Journal of Ophthalmology, 2000
- Refractive error study in children: results from Mechi Zone, NepalAmerican Journal of Ophthalmology, 2000
- Refractive error study in children: results from La Florida, ChileAmerican Journal of Ophthalmology, 2000