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Updated: Jun 23, 2026
Binocular Dynamic Visual Acuity in Eyeglass-Corrected Myopic Patients
Published on: March 29, 2022
Myopia and visual acuity impairment: a comparative study of Greek and Bulgarian school children
Sotiris Plainis1, Joanna Moschandreas, Panagoula Nikolitsa
1Institute of Vision and Optics (IVO), School of Health Sciences, University of Crete, PO Box 2208, 71003 Heraklion, Crete. plainis@med.uoc.gr
Purpose:
To compare the proportions of school children with myopia and impaired visual acuity in Greece and Bulgaria.
Methods:
A sample of 898 children, aged 10-15 years, was selected from two primary and two secondary schools in a Greek city (Heraklion), and one primary and secondary school in a Bulgarian city (Stara Zagora). Five hundred and eighty eight children were Greek (65.5%, mean age 12.5 +/- 0.08 years) and 310 Bulgarian (34.5%, age 12.4 +/- 0.07 years). VA was assessed with the habitual refractive correction. Refractive error was measured in the absence of cycloplegia using an auto-refractor.
Results:
The percentage of children, tested with their habitual refractive correction, with decimal VA <0.5 in at least one eye was 11.7% (95% CI 9.1-14.3%) for Greek and 5.2% (95% CI 2.7-7.6%) for Bulgarian pupils. The percentage of myopic children also differed between the two countries with the proportion with myopic refractive error
Conclusions:
The increased proportion of myopic children in Heraklion, compared to Stara Zagora, may arise from a number of environmental and socio-economic factors, which need to be further investigated in order to understand the differences observed among European populations.
