Al Wadaani Fahd Abdullah, Amin Tarek Tawfik, Ali Ayub, Khan Atuar Rahman
Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Glob J Health Sci. 2012 Nov 11;5(1):125-34. doi: 10.5539/gjhs.v5n1p125.
Some 12.8 million in the age group 5-15 years are visually impaired from uncorrected or inadequately corrected refractive errors. In Saudi Arabia, the size of this public health problem is not well defined especially among primary schoolchildren. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to assess the prevalence and pattern of refractive errors among primary school children in Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia. A total of 2246 Saudi primary school children aged 6 to 14 years of both genders were selected using multistage sampling method form 30 primary schools located in the three different areas of Al Hassa. School children were interviewed to collect demographics and vision data using a special data collection form followed by screening for refractive errors by trained optometrists within the school premises using a standardized protocol. Assessment of visual acuity and ocular motility evaluation were carried out and cover-uncover test was performed. Children detected with defective vision were referred for further examination employing subjective refraction with auto refractometer and objective refraction using streak retinoscopy after 1% cyclopentolate. Of the screened school children (N=2002), the overall prevalence of refractive errors was 13.7% (n=274), higher among females (Odds ratio, OR=1.39, P=0.012) and significantly more among students of rural residence (OR=2.40, P=0.001). The prevalence of refractive errors was disproportionately more among those aged 12-14 years (OR=9.02, P=0.001). Only 9.4% of students with poor vision were wore spectacles for correction. Myopia was the most commonly encountered refractive error among both genders (65.7% of the total errors encountered). Uncorrected refractive errors affected a sizable portion of primary school children in Al Hassa, Saudi Arabia. Primary schoolchildren especially females, rural and older children represents high risk group for refractive errors for which the included children were unaware.
在5至15岁年龄段中，约有1280万人因未矫正或矫正不当的屈光不正而视力受损。在沙特阿拉伯，这一公共卫生问题的规模尚未明确界定，尤其是在小学生中。这项横断面研究的目的是评估沙特阿拉伯哈萨地区小学生屈光不正的患病率和模式。采用多阶段抽样方法，从哈萨三个不同地区的30所小学中选取了2246名6至14岁的沙特男女小学生。使用特殊的数据收集表对在校学生进行访谈，以收集人口统计学和视力数据，随后由经过培训的验光师在学校内使用标准化方案对屈光不正进行筛查。进行视力评估和眼球运动评估，并进行遮盖-去遮盖试验。视力有缺陷的儿童被转介进行进一步检查，先用自动验光仪进行主观验光，然后在使用1%环喷托酯后用带状检眼镜进行客观验光。在接受筛查的在校学生（N = 2002）中，屈光不正的总体患病率为13.7%（n = 274），女性患病率更高（优势比，OR = 1.39，P = 0.012），农村地区学生的患病率显著更高（OR = 2.40，P = 0.001）。12至14岁人群中屈光不正的患病率过高（OR = 9.02，P = 0.001）。视力不佳的学生中只有9.4%佩戴眼镜进行矫正。近视是男女中最常见的屈光不正类型（占所有屈光不正的65.7%）。未矫正的屈光不正影响了沙特阿拉伯哈萨地区相当一部分小学生。小学生，尤其是女性、农村儿童和年龄较大的儿童是屈光不正的高危人群，但本研究中的这些儿童对此并不知晓。
