Abstract
Purpose:
to investigate the prevalence of refractive errors and amblyopia in a school-age population in the city of Latina, located in central Italy near Rome.
Methods:
we examined a total of 500 children, 264 males and 236 females between 3 and 10 years old. The examination included: visual acuity and ocular motility evaluation. We performed also a measurement of refraction with autorefractometer under cycloplegia.
Results:
Myopia was found in 6,6% of children (n=33, 20 males and 13 females), hyperopia in 10,2% (n=51, 23 males and 28 females) and astigmatism 0.75 D or greater was found in 12,6% of children (n=63, 29 males and 34 females). We found association between myopia, older age, and male gender; hyperopia was inversely associated with age and associated with female gender. Astigmatism was present most in female gender. In total, children with refractive errors which needed spectacles were 29,4% (n=147). Spectacles were effectively weared by 36,7% of these children (n=54). Amblyopia was found in 1% of all children (n=5). The most common causes of amblyopia were anisometropia (4 of 5 children) and strabismus (1 of 5 children)
Conclusions:
refractive errors which cause a reduced vision are common in school-aged children, in particular hyperopia which has a high prevalence among females and younger children. Most of these children are unaware of their spectacle needs. Eye health education and screening programs are necessary to early detect and treat these causes of visual impairment.
Keywords: 709 screening for ambylopia and strabismus •
556 infant vision •
676 refraction