Prevalence and Risk Factors of Myopia among Undergraduate Students

This study aims to determine the prevalence of refractive error among undergraduate students in Far Western Nepal and association with ethnicity, parental history of myopia and environmental factors.

Non-interventional, cross-sectional study was done with random sampling involving 768 undergraduate students aged 18 to 26 years were included. Comprehensive ocular examinations were performed using non-cycloplegic refraction by single examiner. A structured, pre-validated questionnaire was used to gather personal demographics, outdoor activity levels, screen time, parental history of myopia, and ethnicity.

The refractive error was found in 16.63% with myopia prevalent in 16.40% of the students. The findings revealed a significant association between myopia and several risk factors, including parental myopia (?=-0.86±0.05; p<0.001), extended near work (?=-0.60±0.08; p<0.001), and high screen time (?=-0.81±0.05; p<0.001). This significant association revealed higher incidences of myopia within academic departments that require intensive near visual tasks, especially in engineering department. Furthermore, ethnic variations indicated that Aryan students, particularly in the Brahmin and Chhetri communities has higher prevalence of myopia than other groups.

The higher prevalence of myopia among the undergraduate students in Far West Nepal was seen at the age of 19. This study suggests the critical risk factors associated with myopia, including age, outdoor activities, screen time, parental history, and ethnic variations which need early health initiatives with preventive strategies for the growing incidence of myopia.