Refractive status of medical students of mymensingh medical college

This study is done to find out the refractive status of medical students of Mymensingh Medical College (MMC), Mymensingh, Bangladesh. They are of the age of 17-19 years. This is a nonrandom purposive cross sectional study done at late part of the November 2008. Visual acuity estimation, automated refraction, streak retinoscopy, fundoscopy using +78D volk lens were done according to the need of the cases. Out of 175 students 53.14% are emmetropic and 46.86% are ametropic, ametropia is nearly equal in both sexes (male 51.22%, female 48.78%). About all students are of highest academic attainment (GPA 5). About one quarter of the ametropic students (21.61%) are not using spectacles. Simple myopia (81.70%) and myopic astigmatism (18.30%) are the types of ametropia. Out of 67 simple myopic students 56 are of bilateral involvement and 11 are of unilateral involvement. There is similarity in the distribution of sex & refractive status in between general population & medical students of Bangladesh. Myopia and myopic astigmatism are prevalent among medical students.