Prevalence of Refractive Errors in Iranian University Students in Kazerun

To determine the prevalence of refractive errors and visual impairment and the correlation between personal characteristics, including age, sex, weight, and height, with different types of refractive errors in a population of university students in the south of Iran.

In this cross-sectional study, a number of university majors were selected as clusters using multi-stage sampling in all universities located in Kazerun (27 clusters of 133 clusters). Then, proportional to size, a number of students in each major were randomly selected to participate in the study. Uncorrected and corrected visual acuity, non-cycloplegic objective refraction and subjective refraction were measured in all participants.

The prevalence and 95% confidence interval (CI) of presenting visual impairment and blindness was 2.19% (1.48-3.23) and 0.27% (0.12-0.62), respectively. Refractive errors comprised 75% of the causes of visual impairment. The prevalence (95% CI) of myopia [spherical equivalent (SE) ≤ -0.5 D], hyperopia (SE ≥ 0.5 D), and astigmatism (cylinder power < -0.5 D) was 42.71% (39.71-45.77), 3.75% (2.85-4.51), and 29.46% (27.50-31.50), respectively. Totally, 49.03% (46.39-51.68) of the participants had at least one type of refractive error. There was a positive association between weight and myopia (1.01; 95% CI: 1.01-1.02), anisometropia (1.03; 95% CI: 1.01-1.06), and refractive errors (1.01; 95% CI: 1.01-1.02). In comparison with the age group 18-19 years, the odds ratio (OR) of astigmatism in the age group 26-27 years was 1.64 (95% CI: 1.03-2.61), and the OR of anisometropia in the age group ≥ 30 years was 0.21 (95% CI: 0.04-0.98).

The prevalence of refractive errors, especially myopia, is higher in university students than the general population. Since refractive errors constitute a major part of visual impairment, university students should receive special services for providing corrective lenses and glasses to reduce the burden of these disorders.