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Visual impairment among 10-14-year school children in Puducherry: A cross-sectional study
R Vishnuprasad1, Joy Bazroy2, K Madhanraj3
1Base Hospital, Delhi Cantonment, New Delhi, India.
Insights
Visual impairment affects 6.37% of school children aged 10-14 in Puducherry. This rate is higher in urban and private schools, and among males, with potential for correction in many cases.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Public Health
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Globally, 285 million people experience visual impairment, with a significant portion being children.
- In developing nations, a substantial percentage of childhood blindness and visual impairment is preventable.
- This study addresses the prevalence of visual impairment in school-aged children in Puducherry, India.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of visual impairment among school students aged 10-14 in Puducherry.
- To identify factors associated with visual impairment in this age group.
- To provide data for targeted public health interventions.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 1884 school students aged 10-14 years.
- Visual impairment was defined as presenting vision ≤6/12 Snellen equivalent in the better eye.
- Data were analyzed using SPSS, with Chi-square tests for statistical significance (P < 0.05).
Main Results:
- The overall prevalence of visual impairment was 6.37% (95% CI: 5.27-7.47).
- Prevalence increased with age and was slightly higher in males (6.6%) than females (6%).
- Vision improved significantly with pinhole correction, reaching 94.6% from 79.8% with presenting vision of 6/6.
Conclusions:
- Visual impairment affects 6.37% of school children in Puducherry.
- Higher prevalence was observed in urban and private schools.
- A positive family history of spectacle use was linked to increased likelihood of visual impairment.
Introduction:
According to the 2010 estimates by the World Health Organization, nearly 285 million (4.24% of total population) people of all ages worldwide are visually impaired. Almost 18.9 million children under 15 years of age are visually impaired globally. In developing countries, 7%-31% of childhood blindness and visual impairment is avoidable.
Materials And Methods:
The study was conducted as a cross-sectional study among 1884 school students in Puducherry, in the age group of 10-14 years. A child with presenting maximum vision ≤6/12 Snellen equivalent in the better eye is considered visually impaired. Data were entered in Microsoft Excel 2013 and analyzed using the statistical software SPSS version 21.0. Chi-square test was applied for testing difference in proportion and a P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results:
The overall prevalence of visual impairment (vision ≤6/12) among the study participants was 6.37% (95% confidence interval = 5.27-7.47). The prevalence of visual impairment increased with age and it was found to be high among male students (6.6%) when compared to female students (6%). Presenting vision of 6/6 was observed in 79.8% of the children while with pinhole correction, the proportion increased to 94.6%.
Conclusion:
The prevalence of visual impairment in our study population was found to be 6.37% and the prevalence was even higher among children who belonged to schools of urban region or private schools. Children with a positive family history of spectacle use were more likely to have visual impairment.
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