Refractive Error and Visual Impairment Among School Children: Result of a South-Eastern Nigerian Regional Survey

To determine the prevalence refractive errors and causes of visual impairment in school children in the south-eastern region of Nigeria.

School-based cross-sectional samples of children 5 to 15 of age in both urban and rural areas were profiled through cluster sampling. The main outcome measures were presenting, uncorrected, and best-corrected visual acuity using the Refractive Error in School-age Children (RESC) protocol.

A total of 5723 children were examined during the study period comprising 2686 (46.9%) males and 3037 (53.1%) females; (M:F ratio 0.9:1) and aged 10.49±2.74SD of mean (range, 5 to 15 years). The age group 12 to <13 accounted for the highest 776 (13.6%) number of the study participants. The uncorrected visual acuity (VA) of <20/40 (6/12) was seen in 188 (3.4%) of the study participants while the presenting and best-corrected visual acuity of <20/40 (6/12) were noted in 182 (3.4%) children and 14 (0.2%) children, respectively. Refractive error was the principal cause of visual impairment.

Prevalence of refractive error is low. Myopia is the principal cause of refractive error occurring more in females and in urban schools. The main cause of visual impairment is refractive error, and most children that need spectacle correction did not have them. Program to identify children with refractive error in addition to providing free or affordable optical services remains the key to preventing visual impairment from refractive error particularly in resource-poor settings.