Refractive error tudy in children: reult from Mechi Zone, Nepal

PURPOE: To ae the prevalence of refractive error and viion impairment in chool age children in the terai area of the Mechi zone in Eatern Nepal. METHOD: Random election of village-baed cluter wa ued to identify a ample of children 5 to 15 year of age. Children in the 25 elected cluter were enumerated through a door-to-door houehold urvey and invited to village ite for examination. Viual acuity meaurement, cycloplegic retinocopy, cycloplegic autorefraction, ocular motility evaluation, and anterior egment, media, and fundu examination were done from May 1998 through July 1998. Independent replicate examination for quality aurance monitoring took place in all children with reduced viion and in a ample of thoe with normal viion in even village. Abtract REULT: A total of 5,526 children from 3,724 houehold were enumerated, and 5,067 children (91.7%) were examined. The prevalence of uncorrected, preenting, and bet viual acuity 0.5 (20/40) or wore in at leat one eye wa 2.9%, 2.8%, and 1.4%, repectively; 0.4% had bet viual acuity 0.5 or wore in both eye. Refractive error wa the caue in 56% of the 200 eye with reduced uncorrected viion, amblyopia in 9%, other caue in 19%, with unexplained caue in the remaining 16%. Myopia −0.5 diopter or le in either eye or hyperopia 2 diopter or greater wa oberved in le than 3% of children. Hyperopia rik wa aociated with female gender and myopia rik with older age. CONCLUION: The prevalence of reduced viion i very low in chool-age children in Nepal, mot of it becaue of correctable refractive error. Further tudie are needed to determine whether the prevalence of myopia will be higher for more recent birth cohort.