Belete Gizachew Tilahun, Tolessa Kalkidan Getahun, Hussen Mohammed Seid
University of Gondar, College of Medicine and Health Science, Department of Optometry, Gondar, Ethiopia.
Clin Optom (Auckl). 2021 Jan 22;13:33-38. doi: 10.2147/OPTO.S291916. eCollection 2021.
Ultraviolet radiation is electromagnetic radiation or light having a wavelength of less than 400 nm but greater than 100 nm. Ultraviolet radiation, majorly from sunlight, can potentially damage any organ that is exposed to any part of its spectrum. Aside from the skin, the organ most susceptible to sunlight-induced damage is the eye. Ultraviolet radiation is reported to be the cause of multiple ocular problems ranging from benign conditions like pterygium and pinguecula to ocular malignancies such as basal cell carcinoma which finally leads to visual impairment and blindness. Protection practice is mandatory to avoid the burden of diseases caused by ultraviolet exposure and maximizing the protection measures implementation is important. To maximize this, it is essential to know the current practice and the associated factors affecting the usage of protective devices in the study area.
Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April to May 2019 on 453 study participants. The study participants were selected through a systematic random sampling method. Data were collected using a pretested structured questionnaire. The analyzed result was summarized and presented using texts, tables and charts. A Chi-square test was applied to assess the significant association.
A total of 430 study subjects were participated and completed the questionnaire with a response rate of 94.92%. The mean age of the study participants was 35.3 (SD±6.68). Two hundred forty-three (56.5%) study participants were males. About 228 (53%) of participants were married, and 356 (82.8%) were Christian in religion. From the total study participants, 173 (40.23%) had good practice in protecting the eye from ultraviolet radiation damages while the remaining 59.77% had poor practice. A significant association was found between sex and protection practice of the eye from ultraviolet radiation damages.
The majority of the study participants had poor protection practice of the eye from ultraviolet radiation damages. Improving awareness and protection practice are vital to reduce the burden of ocular abnormalities due to excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
紫外线辐射是波长小于400纳米但大于100纳米的电磁辐射或光。紫外线辐射主要来自阳光，可能会损害任何暴露于其光谱任何部分的器官。除皮肤外，最易受阳光损伤的器官是眼睛。据报道，紫外线辐射是多种眼部问题的原因，从翼状胬肉和睑裂斑等良性疾病到基底细胞癌等眼部恶性肿瘤，最终导致视力损害和失明。必须采取防护措施以避免紫外线暴露引起疾病负担，并且最大限度地实施保护措施很重要。为了实现这一点，了解研究区域内的当前做法以及影响防护设备使用的相关因素至关重要。
2019年4月至5月对453名研究参与者进行了基于社区的横断面研究。研究参与者通过系统随机抽样方法选取。使用预先测试的结构化问卷收集数据。分析结果通过文本、表格和图表进行总结和呈现。应用卡方检验评估显著相关性。
共有430名研究对象参与并完成了问卷，回复率为94.92%。研究参与者的平均年龄为35.3岁（标准差±6.68）。243名（56.5%）研究参与者为男性。约228名（53%）参与者已婚，356名（82.8%）为基督教徒。在所有研究参与者中，173名（40.23%）在保护眼睛免受紫外线辐射损害方面有良好做法，其余59.77%做法不佳。在性别与眼睛免受紫外线辐射损害的保护做法之间发现了显著关联。
大多数研究参与者在保护眼睛免受紫外线辐射损害方面做法不佳。提高意识和保护做法对于减轻因过度暴露于紫外线辐射而导致的眼部异常负担至关重要。
